Tod Carpenter, who has led Donaldson Co. for 11 years, will step down from his CEO post in March.
Chief Operating Officer Richard Lewis will take over as chief executive on March 2. Carpenter will remain executive chair of the Bloomington-based filtration company.
“On behalf of the board, we extend our sincere appreciation to Tod for his exceptional leadership and decades of service,” said Christopher Hilger, Donaldson’s lead independent director, in a news release. Hilger also is CEO of Securian Financial Group.
Carpenter joined Donaldson in 1996. Lewis joined the company in 2002 and became chief operating officer in August 2025 as part of the company’s succession plan.
“Elevating Rich to the president and CEO role reflects our long-term succession planning process and comes at a time when Donaldson is in a strong position thanks to the talent, dedication, and discipline of our global team,” Carpenter said in a news release.
Under Carpenter’s leadership Donaldson’s annual revenue grew 66%, finishing its last fiscal year with record revenue of $3.7 billion. The stock has had a 230% total return since he became CEO in April 2015.
Under Carpenter, Donaldson began to diversify its filtration products from industrial applications, including on-road trucking and off-road heavy equipment, to branch into life sciences applications.
Lewis has broad management experience across Donaldson including overseeing Donaldson’s global operations and as president of Donaldson’s mobile solutions and life sciences businesses.
