The appointment comes nearly three months after Adamczyk was named the company’s first president and chief operating officer, a newly created role that was seen as a step toward designating a successor to Cote.

Adamczyk will take up his new role on March 31, while Cote, who has led Honeywell for 14 years, will continue as executive chairman until the annual shareowners meeting in April 2018, the company said on Tuesday.

Adamczyk, 50, a Polish immigrant, holds degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Michigan State University and Syracuse University and has an MBA from Harvard.

Honeywell, a U.S. manufacturer of aerospace parts and climate control systems, earlier this year bid for United Technologies (UTX) but the offer was rebuffed.