Leadership Team

Joakim Weidemanis is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Johnson Controls where he leads 100,000 team members passionate about making buildings smarter and better for everyone, leveraging broad sets of technologies and lifecycle services to help customers reach their goals and contribute positively to the environment and communities we serve.

Weidemanis is a seasoned operator with a successful track record in leading global technology-driven businesses and delivering profitable growth. He brings extensive experience scaling global companies from a foundation of customer orientation, innovation and continuous improvement.

Prior to joining Johnson Controls, Weidemanis held several executive leadership roles over his 13-year career at Danaher Corporation, across healthcare, industrial and utility technology businesses. He most recently served as Executive Vice President, Diagnostics and China. During his tenure, he contributed meaningfully to the evolution of the Danaher Business System in growth, innovation, lean and leadership domains. Earlier in his career, he held executive positions of increasing operational responsibility at Mettler Toledo and ABB.

Weidemanis holds a Master of Sciences degree from the Stockholm School of Economics.

Chris Bontempo is Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Johnson Controls, responsible for marketing strategies across the enterprise to drive demand generation and enhance brand equity, including market development, research and planning.

Chris previously worked at IBM, where he was the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for IBM Americas. In this role, he led all aspects of Marketing and Communications for IBM across the United States, Canada, and Latin America.

He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and an undergraduate degree from Amherst College.

Julie Brandt is vice president and president, Global Commercial & Field Operations. In this role, she drives the strategic vision for field delivery and operations, focusing on sustained growth. Her leadership is instrumental in enhancing the company’s commercial capabilities, focusing on customer experience and positioning the company for continued innovation and success.

She previously held the role of vice president and president, Building Solutions North America, and prior to that spent nearly three decades in the elevator industry, in roles of increasing responsibility across P&L ownership, transformational and functional roles. During her career, Brandt has held roles in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

John Donofrio is Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Johnson Controls.

Previously, he was Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of Mars, Inc. He also held the general counsel and secretary role at the Shaw Group, Inc. and Visteon Inc.

Earlier, John was a partner and trial attorney at Kirkland & Ellis and went in-house to become Honeywell’s Vice President, Intellectual Property and Deputy General Counsel. He later became Vice President and General Counsel of Honeywell’s Aerospace division.

John holds a Juris Doctor and his Master of Laws in trade regulation from George Washington University Law Center and has a degree in chemical engineering from Rutgers College of Engineering. He serves on the Medical College of Wisconsin Board of Trustees and is on the board of directors of FARO Technologies.

Richard Lek is vice president and president, EMEA. In this role, he will serve as a member of the Executive Committee and lead the execution of our go-to-market strategy in EMEA, using customer and market insights to capture new growth opportunities, and will deliver superior customer experiences throughout the building lifecycle.

Richard joined Johnson Controls more than 20 years ago and has deep knowledge of products, markets and customers, having held multiple roles across both the field and Global Products businesses. Prior to taking this role, he served as vice president & general manager, Continental Europe, where he delivered business growth with double digit return on sales, operational efficiency improvements and positive performance metrics.

Richard is known for his transformational growth leadership and focus on operational excellence, innovation, and collaboration. His approach is centered on building a performance-driven culture and aligning operations with long-term growth strategies. He is committed to driving sustainable growth by removing barriers to innovation, streamlining processes, and investing in strategic growth platforms.

Nate Manning is the vice president and president, Americas. In this role, he leads strategy development and execution, with a keen focus on anticipating market needs, accelerating growth, and ensuring customer satisfaction through consistent and efficient operations throughout the building lifecycle.

Prior to joining Johnson Controls in 2019, Nate spent nearly 30 years in various global senior leadership with GE Aerospace, Eaton, The AES Corporation and GE Vernova. In these roles, he was responsible for profit and loss, product management, engineering, commercial, manufacturing, procurement and field execution.

Nate has served a variety of philanthropic organizations, including the United Way, March of Dimes and the Atlanta Police Foundation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Dayton. He is also a graduate of GE's Operational Management Leadership Program and the Corporate Audit Staff and is a certified Master Black Belt.

Kathleen “Katie” McGinty is Vice President and Chief Sustainability and External Relations Officer for Johnson Controls where she is responsible for driving the company’s top-tier sustainability performance, including recognition as one of the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations.

In her role, she champions technology development, sustainability, and creative policies tackle climate change, encourage smart buildings and energy efficiency, drive impactful net-zero carbon strategies and bring forward initiatives and partnerships that are needed to solve tough environmental problems and chart a positive course for the future of the planet.

Katie has more than 25 years of public and private sector experience and is a recognized innovator in clean energy and environmental protection. Her public sector career includes being the first woman to serve as Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and as Deputy Assistant to President Clinton (1993-98), as Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection (2003-08), and as Chair of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (2004-08).

She currently serves on several boards, including the International Steering Committee of the World Sustainable Development Summit, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, the Carnegie Mellon Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, the Energy Futures Initiative and MN8 Energy (formerly Goldman Sachs Renewable Power, LLC).

Katie holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from St. Joseph's University and a law degree from Columbia University. She served as a Senior Visiting Fellow at TERI in New Delhi, India, and has received awards and recognitions, including honorary doctorates from Muhlenberg University, Dickinson College, and Clarion State University.

Over the course of her career, Katie has received recognition for her environmental work and influence, including "Woman of the Year" from the Women's Council on Energy and the Environment (2004), one of the Top Women in HVAC by ACHR News (2021), one of the Top 100 Women in Sustainability by Sustainability Magazine (2022), one of 25 women honored for climate leadership by GreenBiz (2022), and one of the Most Influential Women Executives in Corporate America by Women Inc. Magazine (2022).

Anu Rathninde has served as Vice President and President, Asia Pacific since May 2022. In this role, Anu serves as an officer of the company and oversees Johnson Controls operations across the Asia Pacific and China.

Previously, he was President, Electrical Distribution Systems and Advanced Safety & User Experience for Aptiv, Asia Pacific, with responsibility for over 4,000 engineers, 20 manufacturing plants and 35,000 people. Prior to Aptiv, he was Vice President for the automotive products group at Johnson Electric based in Switzerland, leading multiple global business units. He has also held progressive leadership positions in general management, engineering, business development, strategy and business planning at Delphi Corp.

Anu holds a Master of Business Administration from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, a master's degree in global management from Thunderbird School of Global Management, a master's degree in mechatronics from the National University of Singapore, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

Vijay Sankaran is Vice President and Chief Digital and Information Officer for Johnson Controls. In this role, Vijay drives the digitization across the enterprise, transforming experiences for our customers and workforce through the use of software, data, and artificial intelligence. This approach delivers innovative solutions while simplifying and securing our digital landscape.

Vijay joined Johnson Controls in 2021 as Vice President & Chief Technology Officer after holding leadership roles in technology transformation across a spectrum of industries. Before joining Johnson Controls, he was the Chief Information Officer and Head of Innovation at TD Ameritrade with responsibility for digital strategy, customer platforms, software engineering, technology operations, cybersecurity, data management and analytics, and enterprise innovation. He also held executive roles at Ford Motor Company.

Vijay currently serves on the board of Veralto Corporation which provides solutions to safeguard the world’s most vital resources. He is a member of the audit committee.

Vijay holds a Master of Business Administration from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lei Schlitz has served as vice president and president, Global Products & Solutions, since November 2022. She is responsible for the Global Products & Solutions business including research and development, product management and ensuring a robust roadmap for new product introductions.

Lei joined Johnson Controls from Illinois Tool Works (ITW), where she most recently served as Executive Vice President, Automotive OEM segment. Throughout her 14-year career at ITW, she held a number of progressive roles, including Vice President, Research and Development; Group President, Global Ware-Wash and Refrigeration Business and Food Equipment, Asia Pacific; and Executive Vice President, Food Equipment Group. Prior to ITW, Lei spent seven years at Siemens Energy and Automation and also spent time at both General Electric and Eaton Corp.

Lei holds a doctorate and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a bachelor's degree in engineering mechanics from Tsinghua University in China. She has served on ADM’s board of directors since 2019.

Marlon Sullivan is Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Johnson Controls.

As EVP and CHRO, Marlon is responsible for driving the talent strategies that support new capability investments to build a culture of continuous learning aligned to our growth strategy. Marlon is responsible for all elements of our employee experience, including continuing to elevate and strengthen talent acquisition and retention, leadership development, our Diversity & Inclusion strategy, total rewards, learning and development, and our HR solutions and services functions.

Before joining Johnson Controls in October 2021, Marlon held the position of Senior Vice President for Human Resources for Delta Airlines where he led a team of HR professionals responsible for compensation, benefits and wellbeing, equal opportunity compliance, the employee experience strategy, HR analytics, payroll, employee service delivery and HR technology. Prior to his role at Delta, Marlon served as a Vice President in human resources with Abbott Laboratories and his experience also includes HR roles of increasing responsibility with The Home Depot.

Marlon holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in corporate finance from Morehouse College.

Marc Vandiepenbeeck is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, a role he assumed in January 2024. He oversees a wide range of critical functions including Strategy, M&A, Procurement, Investor Relations, FP&A, Internal Audit, Tax, Treasury, Transformation and Corporate Real Estate. He joined Johnson Controls nearly 20 years ago holding roles of increasing responsibility across the company’s leadership, finance and treasury teams. He most recently served as President of Building Solutions EMEALA, and prior to that as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Building Solutions North America business.

Vandiepenbeeck has been a trusted partner for Johnson Controls’ Global Services business and Global Commercial organization in support of the company’s digital transformation and strategic growth initiatives, including sustainability. He has held several international assignments in EMEA, the United States and Asia Pacific.

Vandiepenbeeck holds a bachelor’s degree in business engineering from Universite Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium and a master’s in science of management from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management in Belgium.