PROFILE | David Cote New Honeywell CEO is still spinning his wheels

The high-tech company's financial setbacks and the slowing economy have hampered the hard-charging executive.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- When David Cote abruptly resigned as TRW's chief executive for the same job at Honeywell International, associates thought he finally could create his legacy by revitalizing the struggling yet solid conglomerate.
Cote also saw a better opportunity. After barely six months running TRW, it was clear the Cleveland automotive and defense equipment maker was too mired in debt for him to do anything creative.
Cote, 50, admired Honeywell, a high-tech maker of aerospace, security and automotive products, and its longtime CEO, Lawrence Bossidy. Both were former proteges of General Electric chief executive Jack Welch, had worked their way up to "lieutenant" roles and left to rule their own roost.
"I was really encouraged by what I thought I could do here," Cote said.
No bedrock to build on
Still, Cote (pronounced COH-tee) didn't exactly find the bedrock he expected when he arrived at Honeywell's Morris Township headquarters last February as president and CEO. He became chairman when Bossidy retired June 30.
The recession and a collapsed merger with GE forced thousands of layoffs and huge restructuring charges. Key customers -- mainly commercial airlines and factories -- drastically pared spending on Honeywell's high-margin jet electronics and industrial control systems, and a rebound now looks unlikely until 2004.
So Cote, a very private man known for driving subordinates hard, has had to delay some of his plans: ratcheting up Bossidy's growth-and-productivity mantra, increasing teamwork and teaching staff to "know" how best to contribute. Instead, the Suncook, N.H., native has spent considerable time on cost cutting and damage control, analysts say.
"Dave's doing his best, but he's still trying to find the bottom of the quicksand that he's standing in," Prudential Securities analyst and senior vice president Nicholas Heymann said.
"I think Dave probably will end up surprising folks and ultimately sorting things out," but it might take longer than expected, he added.
Layoffs, missed goals
Twice this summer, Cote had to warn Wall Street that the company would not make upcoming earnings targets. Twice since June, he has had to announce layoff plans. Other cost-cutting efforts have kept the 108,000-worker company profitable, but another restructuring charge is coming in the current quarter.
Cote concedes he is hamstrung by the weak economy choking spending by Honeywell's main customers, but said he has made significant moves to increase cash flow and financial flexibility, improve customer service and marketing efforts, and push development of advanced technology in aerospace and other fields.
"That'll give us very much a leg up on our rivals," he said. "We think that there's prospects for us to do even better."
Cote likely can make that happen, friends and former associates indicate.
"He's a hard-driving, highly motivated, results-driven guy," said Bill Conaty, head of human resources at GE and a longtime personal friend. He describes Cote as a "very aggressive" snow- and waterskier with a great sense of humor.
In fact, Cote's gonzo athletic style and sometimes-frenetic moves at the office have earned him the nickname "Wild Coyote," partly a play on his last name.
Personal history
Cote started in the trenches at GE in 1974, while completing his bachelor's degree in business administration at University of New Hampshire. He worked pump presses, roll mills and other equipment in an aircraft engine parts plant in Hooksett, N.H.
Over 25 years, he moved up the management ladder, and in 1996 Welch chose him as president and CEO of GE Appliances in Louisville, Ky., considered one of the company's toughest businesses because of brutal competition and razor-thin profit margins, according to Conaty.
Cote is known for keeping thing close to the vest. Several analysts who follow Honeywell say they know next to nothing about Cote and have yet to meet him.
Company documents show one thing, though: Cote still gets his security blanket up front. Besides earning an annual base salary of $1.5 million at Honeywell, he will get a bonus of at least $1.9 million this year -- plus nearly $5 million in cash to make up for the 2001 and 2002 bonuses he would have received had he stayed at TRW.