Caterpillar CEO to retire next year
NEW YORK (AP) - Caterpillar said Monday that CEO and Chairman Doug Oberhelman will retire from the company next year and will be replaced as CEO by Jim Umpleby, an executive who has worked at the construction and mining equipment company for more than three decades.
Umpleby, who is 58 years old, will become CEO on Jan. 1. Umpleby is currently the president of Caterpillar's energy and transportation group.
Oberhelman, 63, will step down as CEO at the end of the year and leave the chairman position at the end of March. He has been CEO since 2010 and has been with the company for more than 41 years.
Dave Calhoun will become non-executive chairman after Oberhelman retires on March 31. Calhoun is an executive of private equity firm The Blackstone Group LP.
Caterpillar has been dealing with falling sales because its customers have been hurt by falling oil prices and slower economic growth around the world, causing them to buy less equipment from Caterpillar.
Shares of Caterpillar Inc. slipped 38 cents to $87.29. Its shares are up about 25 percent in the last 12 months.
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This story has been corrected to show that Jim Umpleby will replace Doug Oberhelman as CEO on Jan. 1.