Vimal Kapur

Vimal Kapur
At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in 2025
Vimal Kapur
Born	Template:Birth year and age
Birthplace	India
Nationality	American, Indian
Occupation	Business executive
Title	Chairman and CEO of Honeywell International
Known for	Leading Honeywell International as Chairman and CEO
Education	Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology
Website	[https://www.honeywell.com/us/en/company/leadership/vimal-kapur Official site]

Vimal Kapur (born 1965) is an Indian-American business executive who serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Honeywell International, one of the largest multinational conglomerates in the United States. He assumed the role of CEO in June 2023, succeeding Darius Adamczyk, after more than three decades with the company. Kapur's career at Honeywell began as a sales manager in India, and he rose through the ranks by leading several of the company's major business segments, including Honeywell Process Solutions and Honeywell Building Technologies, before being elevated to the top executive position. As Chairman and CEO, Kapur has overseen significant strategic initiatives including a historic restructuring of Honeywell's business portfolio, investments in quantum computing through the company's subsidiary Quantinuum, and a focus on integrating artificial intelligence across industrial applications. His ascent to the helm of a Fortune 500 company from a starting position as a sales manager in India has been noted as part of a broader trend of Indian-origin executives leading major American corporations.

Early Life

Vimal Kapur was born in 1965 in India. Details about his family background and childhood are not widely documented in public sources. He grew up in India and pursued his higher education there before beginning his professional career.

Kapur's early years in India shaped the trajectory of a career that would eventually place him at the helm of one of America's most prominent industrial conglomerates. His journey from India to the leadership of Honeywell International has been highlighted in media coverage as an example of the significant contributions of Indian-origin professionals in the global business landscape.

Education

Kapur attended the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (formerly Thapar University) in Patiala, Punjab, India, where he studied engineering. The institution has recognized Kapur as a notable alumnus, listing him among its distinguished graduates who have achieved prominence in their respective fields. His engineering background provided the technical foundation for his career in industrial technology and automation, areas central to Honeywell's business operations.

Career

Early Career at Honeywell

Kapur joined Honeywell in the late 1980s, beginning his career as a sales manager in India. Over the course of more than three decades, he held a succession of leadership positions within the company, progressively taking on greater responsibility across multiple business units and geographies. His long tenure with a single organization is notable in an era when corporate executives frequently move between companies; Kapur built his entire executive career within Honeywell's ecosystem of industrial technologies and automation businesses.

President of Honeywell Process Solutions

In 2014, Honeywell named Kapur as president of Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS), a major division of the company that provides automation and control technologies, instrumentation, and services for the oil and gas, refining, pulp and paper, industrial power generation, chemicals and petrochemicals, biofuels, life sciences, and metals, minerals, and mining industries. This appointment placed Kapur in charge of one of Honeywell's core business segments and gave him operational oversight of a global technology enterprise serving critical industries. His leadership of HPS was a significant stepping stone in his path toward the company's top executive role.

Leadership of Honeywell Building Technologies and Performance Materials

Following his tenure at Honeywell Process Solutions, Kapur took on leadership roles in other major divisions of the company. He served in senior positions overseeing Honeywell Building Technologies, which provides products, software, and technologies for buildings and facilities, as well as Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies. These roles broadened his portfolio of experience across the diversified conglomerate's operations, giving him exposure to sectors ranging from building management and safety systems to advanced materials and specialty chemicals.

Appointment as CEO

In 2023, Honeywell's board of directors appointed Kapur as the company's Chief Executive Officer, effective June 2023. He succeeded Darius Adamczyk, who had led the company since 2017. The appointment of Kapur, a 34-year veteran of the company, signaled the board's preference for continuity and deep institutional knowledge at the helm of the industrial conglomerate. His elevation to CEO was covered by business media outlets and noted in the context of the growing number of Indian-origin executives leading major American corporations, a group that includes the CEOs of companies such as Microsoft, Alphabet, and Adobe.

Chairman and CEO

Kapur subsequently assumed the additional title of Chairman of the Board at Honeywell, becoming Chairman and CEO of the company. In this dual capacity, he has led several major strategic initiatives for the conglomerate.

Historic Company Restructuring

One of the most significant moves under Kapur's leadership has been a historic restructuring of Honeywell's business portfolio. In a December 2025 interview with Forbes, Kapur discussed the company's planned split, describing it as a major strategic realignment of the conglomerate's operations. The planned separation represents one of the most substantial organizational changes in Honeywell's history, as the company moves to create more focused, independent businesses from its diversified portfolio of industrial operations. The restructuring has been framed as an effort to unlock shareholder value and allow individual business segments to operate with greater strategic focus and agility.

Artificial Intelligence and Physical AI Strategy

Under Kapur's leadership, Honeywell has placed significant emphasis on the integration of artificial intelligence into its industrial operations and product offerings. In a January 2026 essay published in Time magazine, Kapur argued that "physical AI" — the application of artificial intelligence to physical systems and industrial processes — "has the potential to create a more efficient, safer, and smarter world." This concept of physical AI encompasses the use of machine learning, computer vision, and other AI technologies to optimize manufacturing processes, building operations, energy management, and other industrial applications.

In a November 2025 op-ed published in Fortune, Kapur addressed the broader societal implications of AI and automation on the workforce, arguing that CEOs must rethink how companies prepare future workers for an AI-driven economy. He emphasized the need for organizations to proactively address the disruption that AI and automation bring to employment patterns and skill requirements.

At the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2026, Kapur participated in discussions about AI implementation in business. At an Axios-hosted event, he and other executives discussed the importance of specificity in defining AI goals within organizations, arguing that clearly stating the objectives of AI initiatives can be the difference between success and failure in AI adoption.

Quantum Computing Through Quantinuum

Honeywell's investment in quantum computing through its majority-owned subsidiary Quantinuum has been another area of strategic focus under Kapur's tenure. In February 2026, Kapur noted that Quantinuum's new Helios quantum computer was seeing strong interest from businesses, describing the company as hitting an "inflection point" as enterprises prepare for practical quantum computing applications. Quantinuum, formed from the combination of Honeywell Quantum Solutions and Cambridge Quantum Computing, represents Honeywell's bet on the future of quantum computing technology and its potential applications in materials science, pharmaceuticals, finance, and other industries.

Investment in Education and Workforce Development

In September 2025, Honeywell under Kapur's leadership announced a $10 million investment in the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to transform a campus science building into the "Honeywell Innovation Hub." The investment was designed to support the development of future talent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, aligning with Kapur's publicly stated views on the need to prepare workers for an increasingly technology-driven economy.

Business Performance

In February 2026, speaking at investor conferences, Kapur reported that Honeywell had not seen a "significant change" in U.S. demand trends, with the company's aerospace and buildings segments remaining strong. As Chairman and CEO, Kapur has regularly represented the company at investor conferences and in financial media to communicate Honeywell's strategic direction and operational performance to shareholders and the investment community.

Personal Life

Kapur is of Indian origin and holds American citizenship. He has maintained a relatively private personal life, with limited public information available about his family. His career trajectory from India to the leadership of a Fortune 500 company has been noted in Indian and Indian-American media as a point of community pride.

Kapur has participated in public forums such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he has engaged in discussions about technology, artificial intelligence, and the future of industry. He has also contributed opinion pieces to major publications including Fortune and Time, addressing topics such as AI's impact on the workforce and the potential of physical AI to transform industrial processes.

Recognition

Kapur's alma mater, the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, has recognized him as a notable alumnus, highlighting his achievements in the corporate world. His appointment as CEO of Honeywell was covered by multiple media outlets, including Fox Business, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, and various Indian and international publications.

His participation as a speaker and panelist at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in 2025 placed him among global business and political leaders discussing pressing economic and technological issues. His opinion pieces in Time and Fortune have positioned him as a voice in ongoing discussions about AI, automation, and workforce development in American industry.

Indian-American and Indian media outlets, including Global Indian, Darpan Magazine, and Sakshi Post, have highlighted Kapur's ascent to the CEO position as part of a broader phenomenon of Indian-origin executives achieving top leadership roles at major global corporations.

Legacy

Vimal Kapur's career at Honeywell, spanning more than three decades from a sales manager position in India to the Chairman and CEO role, represents one of the most comprehensive internal ascents in the company's history. His appointment continued and reinforced the trend of Indian-origin professionals leading some of the world's largest technology and industrial companies, a development that has been widely documented in business media.

As the leader of Honeywell during a period of significant technological change, Kapur has positioned the company at the intersection of several transformative trends, including the industrial application of artificial intelligence, the development of quantum computing, and the push toward sustainability and energy efficiency in buildings and industrial processes. The historic restructuring of Honeywell announced under his leadership represents a defining strategic decision that will shape the company's direction for years to come.

Kapur's emphasis on workforce development and education, as exemplified by the $10 million investment in UNC Charlotte and his public commentary on preparing workers for AI-driven economies, reflects an approach to corporate leadership that extends beyond immediate financial performance to address longer-term societal challenges posed by technological disruption.