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3M names McNerney CEO
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December 5, 2000: 11:43 a.m. ET
Maker of Post-it notes taps head of GE jet engine unit to take over Jan. 1
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Minnesota, Mining & Manufacturing Co. on Tuesday picked W. James McNerney Jr., a leading General Electric Co. manager, to be its new chairman and chief executive.
Shares of 3M (MMM: Research, Estimates), a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, gained $10, or almost 10 percent, to $115 in midday trading Tuesday, although that was off a new 52-week high of $117.13 hit earlier in the trading day. A day earlier, 3M shares jumped more than 5 percent Monday after a published report said the diversified manufacturer had named McNerney.
The 51-year-old leader of GE's Aircraft Engines division in Evendale, Ohio, lost a three-way race last week to succeed outgoing GE CEO Jack Welch.
 The report about McNerney's appointment was confirmed Tuesday by an official announcement by St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M, the maker of such consumer products as Scotch tape and Post-it notes and industrial products never seen by consumers. McNerney will succeed retiring CEO Livio "Desi" D. DeSimone, who will help with the transition before he officially steps down April 1. McNerney will take over as 3M's new CEO Jan. 1.
GE responded by naming David Calhoun, 43, as its new president and CEO for GE Aircraft Engines, effective immediately. Calhoun had been executive vice president and chief operating officer of the aircraft engines division, which has annual revenue of $10.6 billion. He also has a range of experience running other GE divisions, including serving as president and CEO of GE Employers Reinsurance Corp.; president and CEO of GE Lighting; and president and CEO of GE Transportation Systems.
Last week, Fairfield, Conn.-based GE tapped Jeffrey Immelt, head of GE Medical Systems, to succeed the retiring Welch, the diversified conglomerate's well-known leader. Analysts said at the time that the two losing candidates, McNerney and Robert L. Nardelli, CEO of the company's Power Systems division, were prime candidates for CEO posts elsewhere in corporate America.
 A challenge for McNerney will be to continue the string of record profits 3M has delivered to Wall Street of late, particularly with evidence that U.S. consumer and business spending is slowing. In the third quarter, 3M posted a record profit of $1.25 a share, beating analysts' forecasts.
Analysts forecast 3M will earn $1.21 a share in the fourth quarter, up from $1.10 a year earlier, and $5.27 a share next year, up from the current forecast of $4.75 a share for this year, according to First Call, which tracks Wall Street profit estimates.
Shares of GE (GE: Research, Estimates), also a Dow component, gained $2.25, to $53.88, in afternoon trading Tuesday. 
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3M
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