Cummins rolled her out like a war hero. A communications strategist forged in the crucible of Capitol Hill, blessed by rumoured proximity to Barack Obama and scrubbed in the glow of bipartisan dreams. The narrative practically writes itself – volleyball team captain, daughter of service, breaker of corporate silos. An idealist. A believer.
Then came Cummins. And the silence.
Katie Moreau is now the Director of Enterprise Communications Strategy at Cummins Inc., a $40 billion Fortune 150 behemoth currently ducking public accountability like it’s a legal liability. She’s been there around seven years, long enough to know the game, long enough to stop pretending it’s basketball at the White House.
Her wrap sheet? She was meant to lead the storytelling behind Destination Zero, Cummins’ bold-faced decarbonisation campaign. She was meant to translate technical breakthroughs into digestible inspiration. What she ended up fronting is a masterclass in corporate ghosting.
The emissions cheating scandal? No wrongdoing admitted. No humility. No apologies.
The antisemitism allegations tied to a Cummins senior employee? Silence.
The growing online backlash from whistle-blowers, former employees, campaigners? Nothing but press releases and recycled HR platitudes.
Where is the messaging strategy, Katie? What happened to “resonating with diverse audiences”? If this is leadership, it’s been locked in a conference room with the lights off and the phones on mute.
Let’s not sugarcoat this. Katie Moreau has the credentials – Georgetown, the Hill, the Energy and Commerce Committee. She’s not a lightweight. But you could be a five-star general and still get swallowed whole by the machine.
Because Cummins isn’t just a company. It’s a culture. A fortress. One where silence isn’t strategy – it’s doctrine. A place where stories die on the whiteboard and crisis communication means praying no one looks too closely. They put her in the chair, handed her a headset, and then locked the cockpit doors.
So here’s the real talk: Maybe the failure isn’t hers alone. Maybe she’s been sold the same pitch as the rest of us. That change is possible. That values matter. That a diesel giant with a century of soot under its fingernails could lead the green revolution.
It hasn’t. It won’t. And if Katie still believes it might, then she’s too far in to get out clean.
There’s still time. She could walk. Step off the stage. Tell her story somewhere that hasn’t made denial into an art form. Because right now, she’s not leading a transformation. She’s babysitting a blackout.
And for someone who is rumoured to have once stood next to Obama watching a game of bipartisan basketball, that’s a hell of a fall.
Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project