D. James Umpleby III
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Caterpillar Inc.
Age 65
Director since March 2018
Independent: Yes
Yas Marina Committees: Board Nominating and Governance; Public Policy and Sustainability
Current Public Company Directorships: Caterpillar Inc.
Mr. Umpleby has been Chairman since 2018, and Chief Executive Officer since 2017, of Caterpillar Inc. (“Caterpillar”), a leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. He was Group President of Caterpillar from 2013 until 2016, with responsibility for Caterpillar’s energy and transportation business segment, and Vice President from 2010 to 2013. He joined Solar Turbines Incorporated, now a Caterpillar subsidiary, in 1980 as an associate engineer.
Other Directorships and Memberships: Business Roundtable; The Business Council; National Petroleum Council; Peterson Institute for International Economics; Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; U.S.-China Business Council; U.S. -India Strategic Partnership Forum
Skills and qualifications
Business Leadership/Operations: Chairman and CEO of Fortune 100 company. More than three decades of experience in senior management and executive positions at Caterpillar, including responsibility for engineering, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and services.
Environmental Affairs: As Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, oversees all aspects of Caterpillar’s environmental and sustainability policies and strategies, which include initiatives to address challenges like preventing waste, improving the quality and efficiency of operations, developing infrastructure, and ensuring access to energy, human health, and environmental safety. Served as a member of the Latin America Conservation Council, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, a global conservation organization. Former director of the World Resources Institute, an international research nonprofit organization working to secure a sustainable future.
Finance: Chairman and CEO of Fortune 100 company. More than a decade of financial responsibility and experience at Caterpillar.
Global Business/International Affairs: Chairman and CEO of Fortune 100 company with extensive international operations. Served in assignments at Caterpillar in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur from 1984 to 1990. Director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the U.S.-China Business Council, and the U.S.-India Business Strategic Partnership Forum and a former member of the U.S.-India CEO Forum.
Leading Business Transformation: As Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, leads global team to develop a new enterprise strategy for long-term profitable growth focused on operational excellence, expanded offerings, sustainability, and services. Accelerated expansion of commercial offerings to provide additional customer value, growing total sales and revenue over 50% since becoming CEO in 2017. In alignment with the strategy, drove enterprise-wide improvement of operational performance with deployment of the Caterpillar Operating & Execution Model across the company to prioritize resource allocation for long-term profitable growth. In 2022, Caterpillar achieved record full-year adjusted profit per share, which has more than quadrupled during his tenure as CEO.
Science/Technology/Engineering: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Has served in a variety of senior management and executive positions at Caterpillar, requiring expertise in engineering and technology.
Updated: April 2023