You thought Cummins was about diesel grit and raw horsepower. Now they’re rolling out the red carpet for Matt Tsien – ex-GM bigwig turned boardroom guru – to front their “Destination Zero” fairy tale. It reeks of glamour-over-guts, a PR stunt dressed up as strategy.
Tsien’s résumé is a trophy case of corporate buzzwords: “electrification”, “innovation”, “global leadership”. But let’s be honest – under his watch at GM, every EV launch felt like waiting for a bus that never came. Promises made, timelines blown, investors left tapping their watches. What makes you think he’ll move faster at Cummins? Especially when he’s got one foot in a dozen other boardrooms and a history of VC sweetheart deals?
This isn’t about actual engineering breakthroughs – it’s about optics. Rumsey needs a shiny face to show the ESG crowd, to hush up the emissions fines and the factory-floor rot you’ve been reading about. Stick a High Profile CTO on the masthead and suddenly you’re the future, right? Wrong. It’s the same old diesel dependency with a fresh coat of greenwash.
And let’s not forget the conflicts. Tsien’s deep ties to GM Ventures, AGCO and Magna smell like a cosy web of back-room favours. When Cummins pours R&D cash into “strategic partnerships”, whose pockets are really getting lined? Yours? The planet’s? Or his mates’?
Worst of all, he’s the epitome of the Old Guard – the guy who climbed the greasy ladder at an automaker still mired in recalls and power-train fiascos. Now he’s here to “guide” Cummins through an energy transition that’s already lurching behind schedule. If they wanted real disruption, they’d hire someone who isn’t already married to legacy thinking.
So congrats, Cummins. You’ve hired yourself a figurehead. A moustache-twirling symbol to distract from the engine-soot stains on your ethics. Meanwhile the factory floors still hum with desperation and the boardroom still whispers “function or you’re out”. Welcome to Destination Zero – zero credibility, maximum bullshit.
Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project
Sources
– “Cummins Elects Matthew Tsien to its Board of Directors,” Business Wire, July 14, 2025
– Wikipedia: General Motors EV programme delays.