Theodore M. (Tim) Solso, Non-Executive Chairman of the Board General Motors
Tim Solso, 66, was elected member of the Board of Directors of EARTH University in 2009 and as a Chairman since 2013. He is Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of General Motors. He was elected to the Board of Directors in April 2012 and began his role as Chairman in January 2014.
Mr. Solso began a 40 year career at Cummins Inc. in 1971. He was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cummins Inc. from January 2000 until his retirement on December 31, 2011. Prior to his role as Chairman and CEO, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1995 through 1999 and was Vice-President in charge of the Engine Business from 1988 to 1995.
Under his leadership, Cummins became a Fortune 250 company that designs, produces and sells diesel engines, power generation equipment and related components worldwide. The Company currently does business in more than 190 countries and territories. In 2011, Cummins generated more than $18 billion in sales, more than half of which were to customers outside the United States.
Among his recent honors, Mr. Solso was honored in October 2013 as the inaugural winner of the Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation prize. He was named a top five finalist to Marketwatch’s CEO of the Decade and to the Barron’s list of the 30 Most Respected CEOs for 2010 and 2011. He received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2008, was selected as the national Six Sigma CEO of the year in 2007 and in March of 2009 was awarded the William R. Laws Human Rights Award by the Human Rights Commission of Columbus, IN, where Cummins is headquartered.
Mr. Solso is a Director of Ball Corp., Mastercard Foundation, Ad Astra Rocket Company, Heritage Group Holdings and serves on the Boards of EARTH University and EARTH University Foundation. He is also a senior advisor to Greenbriar Equity Group, a New York based private equity firm.
He formerly served as a member of the Boards of Amoco Corporation, Ashland Inc., the American Transportation Research Institute, Cyprus AMAX Minerals Inc., the Initiative for Global Development, Irwin Financial Corporation, the Trustees of DePauw University, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and the Heritage Fund of Bartholomew County. Mr. Solso served as U.S. Chairman of the U.S. – Brazil CEO Forum and was a member of the Business Roundtable. He also served as a member of President Barack Obama’s Management Advisory Board and was a Principal on the American Energy Innovation Council.
An Oregon native, Mr. Solso earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from DePauw University in 1969 and an MBA from Harvard University in 1971. He was the recipient of the DePauw Distinguished Alumni Award for Management and Entrepreneurship and Old Gold Goblet. He has received honorary doctorate degrees from DePauw University, Rose-Hulman University, Franklin College and EARTH University.