After more than 41 years with the company, chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman has announced his retirement. During his time as chairman and CEO, Caterpillar has been granted nearly 7,300 patents worldwide.
The company’s board of directors has elected Jim Umpleby, currently a Caterpillar group president with responsibility for energy & transportation, to succeed Oberhelman as CEO. Umpleby has been with Caterpillar for 35 years. He will join the Caterpillar main board and become CEO on 1st January 2017.
Oberhelman will remain as executive chairman until he retires on 31st March 2017. At that point, Dave Calhoun, a member of the Caterpillar board since 2011, will take the role of non-executive chairman. Mr Calhoun is senior managing director and head of private equity portfolio operations of The Blackstone Group.
Dave Calhoun said: “Following a deliberate succession process, the board confidently elected Jim as Caterpillar’s next CEO. He reflects the best attributes of Caterpillar’s culture and leadership. I also want to compliment Doug for his outstanding leadership as chairman and CEO, as the capstone to more than four decades of service. His leadership in the last four years has been remarkable as the company has successfully navigated an incredibly difficult cycle while positioning Caterpillar to take full advantage of the next upturn.”
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