Construction and mining equipment maker Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT) said Thursday it elected Group President Douglas Oberhelman as vice chairman and chief executive officer - Elect, to be effective January 1, 2010.
However, Oberhelman will have to wait until next summer to succeed James Owens to the office of chief executive officer after Owens retires from the position on July 1, 2010. Owens would then remain as chairman of the board through October 31, 2010, when he retires under a mandatory retirement policy.
Oberhelman, who would be elected chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors at the annual meeting in June 2010, would also succeed Owens as chairman of the board, when he retires in October 2010. Owens has been serving as the chairman and chief executive officer of Caterpillar since February 2004. The company announced the succession plan now in order to allow Oberhelman to concentrate on aligning resources for the future and defining critical success factors for Caterpillar's leadership going forward.
In a statement, presiding director and chairman of the governance committee of the board, Frank Blount said ,"Jim informed us in 2008 that he was planning to retire in the fall of 2010 and has worked extensively with the Governance Committee and the Board of Directors over the last 12 months to develop a succession plan to smoothly transition the company into its next phase of executive leadership and to align the transition with the company's annual and long-term strategic planning cycles."
Oberhelman, currently serving as group president of Caterpillar, is responsible for the engine and gas turbine businesses, human services, rail services and remanufacturing divisions. At his new positions, Oberhelman would have additional responsibilities of managing the leadership transition and updating the company's strategy.
Owens joined the company in 1972 as a corporate economist, he has held numerous management positions since then. Owens was named chief economist of Caterpillar Overseas S.A. in Geneva, Switzerland in 1975. From 1980 until 1987, he held managerial positions in the Accounting and Product Source Planning Departments. In 1987 to 1990, Owens was named the managing director of P.T. Natra Raya, Caterpillar's joint venture in Indonesia.
In 1990, Owens was elected as corporate vice president and named president of Caterpillar subsidiary Solar Turbines. Inc. In 1993, he became vice president and chief financial officer with administrative responsibility for the Corporate Services Division. Owens was then named a group president and member of Caterpillar's Executive Office in 1995.
Meanwhile, Oberhelman, a 34-year Caterpillar veteran, joined the company in 1975 and is currently serving as a group president of Caterpillar. He has held a variety of positions since then including senior finance representative based in South America for Caterpillar Americas Co; region finance manager and district manager for the company's North American Commercial Division; and managing director and vice general manager for strategic planning at Caterpillar Japan Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan.
Oberhelman is currently responsible for the human services and sustainable development functions as well as Caterpillar's growing remanufacturing business. He also oversees worldwide manufacturing, marketing and support of industrial and large power systems, industrial gas turbines and Progress Rail Services.
Oberhelman was elected a vice president in 1995, serving as Caterpillar's chief financial officer from 1995 to November 1998. He was then elected a group president and member of Caterpillar's executive office in 2002.
"Doug has gained a broad understanding of Caterpillar's business through his diverse background, which has ranged from serving as our Chief Financial Officer, to focusing on operational excellence in Cat's engine manufacturing operations, to leading marketing efforts in the Americas. Doug's expertise in all critical facets of our business, combined with his international business experience in Asia and Latin America, and his relentless focus on execution and results make him uniquely qualified to lead Caterpillar in today's global economy," Owens added.
In Thursday's regular trading session, CAT is currently trading at $57.20, down $0.79 or 1.35% on a volume of 4.99 million shares. In the past 52-week period, the stock has been trading in a range of $21.71 to $61.28.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com