Dauch Corp (DCH) · Oct 13, 2026 · Exec change
CFO succession — Iles becomes CFO December 1; May remains executive vice president
Dauch’s executive change brings in Nathan Iles as CFO while retaining Christopher May, making this an orderly handoff rather than a disruptive departure.
Where Dauch stands: Dauch is still in the early integration phase of its February 3, 2026 acquisition of Dowlais, combining driveline and metal-forming operations across 24 countries and more than 175 locations. The deal also added substantial financing and integration complexity, making finance leadership more consequential than a routine title change.
This is an orderly succession, not a CFO departure. Nathan Iles joins as finance chief-in-waiting on November 2 and takes over on December 1, while Christopher May stays with Dauch as executive vice president and chief administrative officer, retaining IT and adding HR oversight. 〔0〕 That planned overlap lowers the execution risk normally associated with a sudden CFO exit.
The incoming CFO brings relevant outside experience, while the company preserves internal continuity. Iles has more than 25 years of finance leadership, including recent CFO roles at Standard Motor Products and UCI International Holdings. 〔1〕 May’s move into a broader administrative role also keeps his institutional knowledge inside the company as Dauch works through the Dowlais combination. No clean market benchmark exists for this personnel reshuffle, but relative to the standing assumption of May continuing indefinitely as CFO, the announcement is a modestly constructive change: fresh finance leadership without a hard break.
The main uncertainty is execution, not the succession plan itself. Terri Kemp is set to retire at year-end after shifting fully into the chief-of-staff role, creating another leadership transition during integration. 〔2〕
Bottom line: This is a structured, continuity-preserving executive change that modestly strengthens Dauch’s finance bench during a demanding integration period. It matters operationally, but it does not by itself change the company’s underlying growth or leverage story.
Iles joins Nov. 2; CFO handoff Dec. 1
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