3M Co. announced Monday that longtime company executive Nicholas Gangestad will become its new chief financial officer, replacing David Meline.

Gangestad has spent 27 years at 3M, where he has served as controller and chief accounting officer. In addition to being CFO, Gangestad will also be a senior vice president for the company. The appointment is effective immediately,

Meanwhile, David Meline is heading to biotechnology firm Amgen to become its CFO on July 21. Meline had been 3M's CFO for six years and joined 3M in 2008 from General Motors, where he spent 20 years.

The management change comes as Maplewood-based 3M says that it's weighing the possibility of much larger acquisitions. 3M has traditionally stuck to buying firms for roughly $1 billion or less. Going forward, 3M officials said they will consider much larger deals and estimated that the company will spend $5 billion to $10 billion on acquisitions between 2013 and 2017.

Guilding that task now falls to Gangestad.

"Nick is an outstanding and respected financial leader amongst a very strong 3M finance team," said CEO Inge Thulin in a statement Monday. "He has a proven track record of success and is ideally suited for the 3M CFO role."

Gangestad's career at 3M involved leadership posts across several of 3M's five core businesses and in various regions including the United States, Canada, Asia and Latin America.

Unlike Meline, Gangestad built his career at 3M.

Meline had been vice president and chief financial officer of GM North America, when he was approached about taking the 3M job. At the time he had held senior posts with GM in New York, Europe, South Korea, Brazil and Kenya.

3M's stock rose following the news. It closed Monday at $145.32, up 68 cents.

Dee DePass • 612-673-7725