Caterpillar’s board of directors has waived a policy requiring Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby to retire at age 65.
Umpleby turns 65 in February and has agreed to remain in his position beyond that date.
"Waiving the mandatory retirement policy for Jim provides the board greater flexibility with its CEO succession process," said Debra Reed-Klages, presiding director, speaking on behalf of Caterpillar's board of directors. "Jim has provided strong strategic and operating leadership for the company, and we look forward to his continued leadership of the Caterpillar team."
A company veteran, Umpleby has spent more than 40 years with Caterpillar. He joined Solar Turbines Incorporated, a San Diego-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar that manufactures industrial gas turbine systems, in 1980. In 2010, he was appointed president of Solar Turbines and vice president of Caterpillar. From 2013 to 2016, he served as group president of Caterpillar’s Energy & Transportation business segment.
Upon the retirement of Doug Oberhelman in 2017, Umpleby was named CEO. He was elected chairman of Caterpillar’s board of directors in December 2018. In this role, Umpleby leads a team of about 107,700 employees in 63 countries.
Umpleby holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He has completed an executive leadership program at the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.
He serves on the board of the Chevron Corporation, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, the US-China Business Council and the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
