Brian Kesseler,
is chief executive officer for Tenneco Inc., one of the world’s largest designers, manufacturers and marketers of ride performance and clean air products and systems for automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment markets and the aftermarket.
In 2018, Tenneco announced plans to create two new companies through the acquisition of Federal-Mogul LLC. Kesseler was named chairman and CEO of the new Aftermarket and Ride Performance company, and serves as Tenneco CEO during the transition. He is also a member of Tenneco’s Board of Directors.
Kesseler was named chief executive officer of Tenneco in 2017, after joining the company in 2015 as chief operating officer. As CEO, he was responsible for driving operational excellence, financial performance and revenue growth across all of Tenneco’s business segments globally. He also served a key role in developing and executing Tenneco’s strategies for growth and profitability improvement.
Prior to joining Tenneco, Kesseler spent more than 20 years with Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI), in his last role serving as president of the Johnson Controls Power Solutions business, which supplies more than one-third of the world’s conventional batteries to major automakers and aftermarket retailers. He was responsible for strategy development and execution, technology initiatives and operations. In 2013, he was named a corporate officer, and was a member of the Johnson Controls executive operating team. Kesseler also served as the sponsor of Johnson Controls’ Manufacturing Operations Council.
Kesseler originally joined JCI in 1994 and during his tenure held leadership positions in all of the company’s business units, including serving as vice president and general manager, Service-North America, Systems and Services Europe, and Unitary Products Group, for the Building Efficiency business.
He began his career with the Ford Motor Company in 1989 and worked in North America Assembly Operations for five years, in various manufacturing management roles.
Kesseler holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Michigan State University and an MBA from Baldwin-Wallace College. He currently serves on the board of the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.
Tenneco (formerly Tenneco Automotive and originally Tennessee Gas Transmission Company) is an American Fortune 500 company that has been publicly traded on the NYSE since November 5, 1999 under the symbol TEN. Tenneco, with headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois, United States[1] is an automotive components original equipment manufacturer and an after-market ride-control and emissions products. In 2011 it reported a revenue of $7.2 billion[citation needed].
