Curt Kramer has been named Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Navistar International (NYSE: NAV), effective April 1 upon the retirement of Steve Covey. Steve spent 36 years with Navistar, including the last 13 as General Counsel. I thank Steve for making Navistar one of our first Fortune 500 clients almost 20 years ago. We had the privilege of handling the search that resulted in Curt’s placement at Navistar in 2002.
Curt started at Navistar with the title Senior Attorney, and he has successfully climbed every step up the law department ladder. It was an ascent that, by my count, included at least four title changes (most recently Associate GC and Corporate Secretary).
In our upcoming March 18 issue of “Evers eNews,” my Culture Fit column title is “Musical Chairs” and I talk about the frequency with which GC’s tend to move around these days. Steve Covey and Curt Kramer are proof that doing great work, building relationships, treating your team members well, navigating corporate changes, and always showing loyalty… remains a formula that works too. Congratulations Curt! I am very happy for you, and I appreciate your support over the years. Curt participated on a panel I put together for the In-house Innovates conference a few months ago. I am not supposed to play favorites, but you are indeed at the top of my list… I am grateful that our paths crossed early in our respective careers.
A quick thank you as well to Bob Perna. Bob was the General Attorney (really an Assistant GC title for Navistar) who hired Curt in 2002. Although Steve kindly gave our firm the thumbs up to engage with Navistar, I worked most closely with Bob on that search, and he was very generous in his support of our efforts. Bob has been a General Counsel for several years now and currently sits in the big chair for Rockwell Collins.
