TRW CEO leaves for Honeywell

In a surprise announcement, David Cote resigned as chairman, president and chief executive officer of technology giant TRW Inc. to accept a similar position with Honeywell International Inc., Cleveland-based TRW announced Feb. 19.Cote has been named president and CEO of Honeywell, which is based in Morristown, N.J. He will become chairman when Lawrence Bossidy, the current chairman, retires on June 30.The TRW board of directors has established a chief executive office to direct the company while a permanent successor is sought. The office will include Philip Odeen as non-executive chairman; Timothy Hannemann, president and CEO of the company's aerospace and electronics businesses; and John Plant, who will continue as president and CEO of TRW's automotive unit.TRW, which ranked no. 8 in Washington Technology's 2001 list of Top 100 government systems integrators, has 94,000 employees and 2001 revenue of $16.4 billion.