Caterpillar Inc. last week announced several changes at the officer level, including the initial leadership for the integration of Bucyrus International. The company also announced the completion of organizational changes that will position Caterpillar to deliver on its Vision 2020 strategy.
After more than 41 years with Caterpillar, James Parker, vice president, Americas Distribution Division, has elected to retire effective Jan. 1, 2011.
“During the course of his career at Caterpillar, Jim has consistently taken a passionate, customer-focused approach to leadership, and has worked very closely with our dealers, including key support for several dealer transitions in recent years,” said Stu Levenick, Caterpillar group president with responsibility for customer and dealer support.
Caterpillar’s board of directors appointed William Finerty to replace Parker as vice president, Americas Distribution Division. Finerty’s move will be effective Jan. 1.
“Bill’s enthusiastic customer focus combined with his extensive marketing, dealer development and industry experience makes him the ideal candidate for this position,” Levenick said.
Finerty joined Caterpillar in 1984 in the marketing training program as a sales development tech. He then held a series of positions in the United States and Europe with growing responsibilities in the areas of marketing, finance and mining. In 2005, he was named a regional manager for the Americas Distribution Division, and for the past five years has been instrumental in the growth and development of the North American dealer organization.
Steven Fisher will become vice president with responsibility for the integration of Bucyrus International. In November, Caterpillar announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Bucyrus in a transaction valued at approximately $8.6 billion (including net debt). The closing of the transaction is expected in mid-2011, and is subject to regulatory approvals, customary closing conditions and approval by Bucyrus stockholders. Fisher is currently Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for the Remanufacturing & Components Division.
“Steve has been instrumental in the rapid growth and success of Caterpillar’s Remanufacturing business, which has been one of the company’s fastest growing organizations in recent years,” said Steve Wunning, Caterpillar group president with executive office accountability for Bucyrus, along with his current responsibilities for the company’s Resource Industries. “Steve has been directly involved with several acquisitions, and the successful integration of those companies into Caterpillar. In this new role, Steve will initially lead a dedicated team of Caterpillar professionals in the integration planning efforts, and upon closing, will lead cross functional teams from both Caterpillar and Bucyrus to ensure a smooth and orderly integration.”
Gregory Folley will replace Fisher as vice president with responsibility for the Remanufacturing & Components Division. Folley is currently vice president with responsibility for the Human Services Division. Previously, Folley was vice president of the Core Components Division.
A replacement for Folley as the vice president of the Human Services Division will be named at a later date.
Jiming Zhu, Caterpillar vice president responsible for the China Division, has elected to leave the company to pursue other opportunities. Zhu’s departure from Caterpillar will be effective Dec. 31.
Zhu will not be replaced with a Caterpillar corporate vice president. Instead, Caterpillar group president Rich Lavin is moving to Hong Kong, where Caterpillar has established a new executive office for the company to provide added leadership for China and other critical growth markets. Lavin’s move to Hong Kong marks the first time Caterpillar has had a member of its executive office based in Asia.
Effective Jan. 1, Kevin Thieneman will become country manager for China and chairman of Caterpillar (China) Investment Co., leading the ongoing development of Caterpillar's strategy and business growth in China. Thieneman will relocate to Beijing and retain his current responsibilities as country manager for India and ASEAN, and he will report to Lavin.
“I want to thank Jiming for the work he has done to position Caterpillar for growth and leadership in China,” Lavin said. “We wish him well and continued success in the next phase of his professional career.”
In order to more fully align its machinery businesses and leverage corporate services across the enterprise, Caterpillar also announced the final structural changes for the organization in support of Caterpillar’s updated corporate strategy, unveiled by chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman in June of this year. Effective Jan. 1, the Building Construction Products Division, led by vice president Mary Bell, will report to Rich Lavin, group president, Construction Industries & Growth Markets. Caterpillar’s Global Purchasing Division, led by chief procurement officer Frank Crespo, will report to Ed Rapp, chief financial officer and group president of Corporate Services.
The company last week also elected Jesse Greene Jr. and Miles White to the Caterpillar board of directors, effective Jan. 1. Greene will serve as a member of the Audit Committee and White will serve as a member of the Governance Committee.
Greene is currently the chief financial risk officer for IBM where he has worked for nearly 30 years, including a variety of senior positions in finance.
White has served as the chief executive officer of Abbott Laboratories since 1998 and as its chairman since 1999. He joined Abbott in 1984 and held a number of senior positions with increasing responsibility prior to being named CEO.
Caterpillar Inc. had 2009 sales and revenues of $32.39 billion, and is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel electric locomotives.
