Barner Joins Cummins as Vice President – General Counsel

Published on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 10:15 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

COLUMBUS, Ind.-( Business Wire )-

Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) announced today that Sharon R. Barner, formerly a top official in the U.S. Department of Commerce and a leading expert on intellectual property, has joined the Company as its Vice President – General Counsel.

Barner served as Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from 2009 to 2011. Last year, she returned to private practice at the law firm of Foley & Lardner in Chicago where she has been a partner since 1996.

Barner led the law firm’s Intellectual Property Department, supervising more than 200 intellectual property lawyers. She successfully litigated and tried numerous high profile cases over her career, arguing before several appellate courts including the Sixth and Seventh Circuit as well as the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She was also a member of Foley & Lardner’s Executive Management Committee overseeing the law firm’s operations from 2003 to 2009.

At Cummins, Barner will report to Marya Rose, Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. Rose was the Company’s General Counsel before taking on her new role.

“While Sharon has focused most of her legal career on intellectual property, she has demonstrated an incredible capacity to quickly master a wide range of topics,” Rose said. “She also knows Cummins well, having served as our outside counsel on intellectual property issues for many years. I know she will be a tremendous asset as we grow into a truly global company.”

Barner, a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, said she’s excited about this new chapter in her more than 30-year legal career.

“Over time I’ve gotten to know Cummins and I’ve always been impressed with the Company’s Mission, Vision and Values and its commitment to creating the right work environment,” she said. “Cummins’ success is no surprise to me. I am really looking forward to this new opportunity.”

Barner’s awards and honors include receiving the “2011 Women of Vision Award” from the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, being named one of “The 50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America” by the National Law Journal in May 2008 and an Illinois “Super Lawyer” by Law & Politics Media Inc. (2005-2011) for her intellectual property litigation work.

She and her family will be relocating to Indianapolis from Chicago.

About Cummins

Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, (USA) Cummins employs approximately 40,000 people worldwide and serves customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of more than 600 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 6,000 dealer locations. Cummins earned $1.0 billion on sales of $13.2 billion in 2010. Press releases can be found on the Web at http://cummins.com.

Forward-looking disclosure statement

Information provided in this release that is not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the company's expectations, hopes, beliefs and intentions on strategies regarding the future. It is important to note that the company's actual future results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements because of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, general economic, business and financing conditions, labor relations, governmental action, competitor pricing activity, expense volatility and other risks detailed from time to time in Cummins Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Cummins Inc.Blair Claflin, Director – Sustainability Communications, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.