Equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. on Oct. 17 announced that CEO and Chairman Doug Oberhelman will retire from the company in March. But the departing chief remains optimistic, despite the Peoria, Ill.-based firm’s historic slump.
Succeeding Oberhelman on Jan. 1 as CEO will be 35-year corporate veteran Jim Umpleby, Caterpillar group president for energy and transportation, the company said. It also named outside board member Dave Calhoun as non-executive chairman, the first time since 1990 that the CEO and chairman titles were not held by the same person. Oberhelman has been with the firm for 41 years and was appointed to his current roles in 2010.