Caterpillar’s President of Customer & Dealer Support Rob Charter to Retire

Caterpillar announced that Rob Charter, group president of customer and dealer support, is retiring after 30 years with the manufacturer. Charter’s retirement will be effective June 1. The company expects to announce a replacement in the near future.

“During his three decades with Caterpillar, Rob has built a reputation for his focus and unwavering commitment to helping our customers succeed,” said Caterpillar CEO Jim Umpleby. “Rob’s global perspective – he’s held positions in Asia, Latin America, the United States and in his home country of Australia – is just one reason he’s a valuable member of our executive leadership team. Rob is also known within the company for his passion for developing and mentoring Caterpillar employees around the globe. We wish him a long and happy retirement.”

“I’ve had an extraordinary career and am grateful for the opportunity to have served our customers for the past three decades,” Charter said. “I’m honored to have led some remarkable teams. And over two-thirds of my time at Caterpillar was spent working alongside what I still believe is one of the company’s greatest competitive advantages – our dealer network. My wife, Tammy, and I look forward to returning home to Australia and spending more time with our family.”

Charter joined Caterpillar in 1989 as a development engineer in Melbourne. Early in his career, he worked in service training, machine sales and service, mining product support, manufacturing, construction, quarry and forestry. Charter was also a district manager in Australia. Charter’s next leadership position was with Caterpillar’s Asia Pacific Division in Tokyo as product manager. In 2005, he was appointed southern region manager in Caterpillar’s Latin America Division, a position he held until 2008 when the Caterpillar board of directors named Charter vice president of the Asia Pacific Distribution Services Division. He held that position until January 2013 when he was appointed vice president of the Excavation Division.

Charter became a group president and member of Caterpillar’s Executive Office in 2015.

Along with his many achievements, Charter strongly promoted the concept of connectivity in the Caterpillar equipment fleet and the development of programs to anticipate and predict equipment issues before they arose. Last year at ConExpo, Charter said, “Our iron is getting smarter all the time. Today we are driving the digital revolution with data analytics, 3-D printing, augmented reality and much more. Through Cat Connect Services, we are connecting assets of all types and brands, and increasing productivity, safety and sustainability. Caterpillar has not only the world’s largest field population; we have the world’s largest connected industrial fleet, more than 470,000 units.”