Xylem Inc.

Is Xylem publicly traded?
Yes. It trades on the NYSE under ticker XYL and is in the S&P 500.

What does the name Xylem mean?
Xylem is the plant tissue that transports water from roots to leaves, chosen to signal the company's focus on moving water.

Who is the CEO of Xylem?
Matthew Pine, who became president and CEO in January 2024.

Did Xylem buy Evoqua?
Yes. The approximately $7.5 billion all-stock acquisition closed in May 2023, creating the world's largest pure-play water technology company.

Where is Xylem headquartered?
Washington, DC, at 301 Water Street SE.

What companies did Xylem spin off from?
ITT Corporation, in a 2011 three-way split.

The company is young, but its brands are not. The pump and water businesses ITT Corporation assembled over decades included Flygt (acquired 1968), Bell & Gossett (1963), Lowara, Goulds Pumps (1997), Wedeco, and Sanitaire, several of them more than a century old.

In October 2011 ITT split itself into three companies, spinning its water businesses into a new independent public company named Xylem, after the tissue that transports water in plants. Gretchen McClain was the first CEO. The company initially based itself in White Plains and then Rye Brook, New York, before relocating headquarters to Washington, DC.

Patrick Decker took over as CEO in 2014 and drove the transformation from pump maker to technology solutions provider. The pivotal acquisitions were Sensus in 2016 for $1.7 billion, which added smart metering and network analytics, and Pure Technologies in 2017 for pipeline assessment. The 2023 all-stock acquisition of Evoqua Water Technologies for approximately $7.5 billion doubled down on treatment services and made Xylem the largest pure-play water company in the world.

Matthew Pine succeeded Decker as CEO in January 2024, having previously served as chief operating officer. Under Pine the company has focused on integrating Evoqua, expanding margin, and capitalizing on scarcity-driven demand for water reuse and digital utility management.

Water is the business, so sustainability sits at the core of the brand rather than in a bolt-on program. Xylem committed to helping customers reduce water demand, reuse water, and cut greenhouse gas emissions, and it reports progress against public goals covering water stewardship and community access through Xylem Watermark.

The company has held repeated placements on sustainability indices and rankings of responsible corporations. Its products address PFAS removal, leak detection, and treatment resilience, areas where regulation keeps expanding.

Xylem has appeared on Fortune's Change the World list and the JUST Capital rankings of America's most just companies, and it has held strong ESG ratings from MSCI and CDP climate and water assessments. It is a constituent of the S&P 500.