Business
Caterpillar Chief Executive Officer Joe Creed Elected Chairman of the Board
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) announced that, after 45 years of service, including eight years as Caterpillar's CEO, D. James Umpleby III will retire as Executive Chairman and as a member of the Caterpillar Board of Directors effective April 1, 2026. At that time, CEO Joseph E. Creed will assume the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors.
About this update from Caterpillar, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"IRVING, Texas, Jan. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) announced that, after 45 years of service, including eight years as Caterpillar's CEO, D. James Umpleby III will retire as Executive Chairman and as a member of the Caterpillar Board of Directors effective April 1, 2026. At that time, CEO Joseph E. Creed will assume the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors.","length":391,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"image","alt":"Caterpillar Inc (PRNewsfoto/Caterpillar Inc.)","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"Caterpillar Inc (PRNewsfoto/Caterpillar Inc.)","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":400,"height":62,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/28b15b8f0ac82b6a42408cae731a5551"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/pUKRixQ7a7dEsrRHpC9.pA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTEwOTtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/28b15b8f0ac82b6a42408cae731a5551","width":400,"height":62}},"href":"https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1978047/Caterpillar_Logo.html","hrefExternal":true,"rel":"nofollow"},{"type":"text","content":"As part of this leadership transition, Debra L. Reed-Klages, who has served as a director since June 2015 and independent presiding director since June 2022, will continue to serve as lead independent director. "On behalf of the Board of Directors, we want to express our gratitude to Jim for his exemplary service as CEO and as a director. We look forward to continuing to work with Joe in his new role as Chairman of the Board," said Reed-Klages.","length":458,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":""On behalf of the Board and the entire Caterpillar team worldwide, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Jim whose years of dedicated service have made a lasting impact and helped shape our legacy of excellence," added Creed. "I am honored to carry the torch forward as Chairman of the Board as we further Caterpillar's mission of solving our customers' toughest challenges."","length":406,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Creed joined Caterpillar in 1997 and has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility across multiple divisions of the company, including Chief Operating Officer and Group President of Energy & Transportation. He was appointed CEO and became a member of the Board o...