Craig Arnold spent decades working across industrial businesses before becoming Eaton's chairman and chief executive. His career ran from General Electric's appliances, plastics and lighting operations to Eaton's work in power management. Eaton's 2025 proxy statement identifies him as Black or African American through its directors' self-reported diversity information.
Arnold earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at California State University, San Bernardino, and an MBA at Pepperdine University. He began his General Electric career in 1983. International assignments followed: GE Plastics in Greater China and GE Appliances in Asia. In 1999 and 2000, he led GE Lighting Services, with responsibilities spanning Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India.
In 2000, he moved to Eaton as senior vice president and group executive of its Fluid Power Group. He later became vice chairman and chief operating officer of the Industrial Sector, serving in that role from 2009 to 2015. Procter & Gamble's director biography records these assignments as experience he later brought to board service.
Eaton named Arnold president and chief operating officer in September 2015, and he became chairman and chief executive on June 1, 2016. In September 2024, the University of South Carolina's Center for Executive Succession announced him as that year's Leadership Legacy Award recipient for his work developing executive talent.
He retired on May 31, 2025, and Paulo Ruiz became chief executive the next day. Eaton's following-year proxy statement records the transition, which also separated the chair and chief executive positions. On June 9, 2025, Procter & Gamble appointed him to its board. Its announcement also noted his service as Medtronic's lead independent director and his involvement with United Way and the Salvation Army in Greater Cleveland.
