Caterpillar Announces Vice President Retirements and Appointments

PEORIA, Ill., Dec. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the previous announcement of changes and appointments in Caterpillar's Executive Office, and due to the retirement of two long-serving vice presidents, Caterpillar Inc. CAT announced today its Board of Directors has appointed three new vice presidents.   

Kent Adams to Retire
After more than 38 years with Caterpillar, Kent Adams, 62, president and Chief Executive Officer of Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation and Caterpillar vice president of the Financial Products Division, has elected to retire.    

"Under Kent's guidance since 2005, Cat Financial has been a stable source of earnings through challenging business cycles, including the global financial crisis," said Jim Umpleby, Caterpillar CEO-elect. "Kent leaves a lasting legacy for Caterpillar through his relentless focus on improving the customer experience as well as developing and nurturing a people-focused culture for employees working for Cat Financial."

Adams joined Caterpillar in 1979 and performed various finance functions in positions of increasing leadership at Caterpillar Americas Co., the North American Commercial Division, Caterpillar Asia Pte. Ltd. and Caterpillar Brasil Ltda. before joining Cat Financial in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1998 as vice president responsible for European operations and marine vessel finance. He was a member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Board of Directors, the Financial Services Roundtable, the Nashville branch of the Federal Reserve Board of Atlanta, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Board of the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville.  

Mike DeWalt to Retire
After more than 35 years with the company, Mike DeWalt, 59, vice president of the Finance Services Division, has elected to retire. 

"For more than 10 years, Mike has been the trusted face and voice of Caterpillar for the investment community, leading our Investor Relations group with a steady hand and a deep knowledge of every part of the company's global operations and the markets we serve," Umpleby said. "Mike has provided effective leadership for a number of financial activities, including Corporate Treasury, Economics, Business Risk Management, Competitive Analysis, Strategic Planning and Strategic Investments," Umpleby added.

DeWalt joined Caterpillar in 1981 as an accountant and progressed to a series of positions with increasing responsibilities in accounting and finance areas. From 1996–2001, DeWalt was the senior finance leader for F.G. Wilson in Northern Ireland and Perkins Engine Company in Peterborough, U.K. – both wholly owned subsidiaries of Caterpillar. Following those assignments, he was named director of Strategic Investments, leading Caterpillar's corporate mergers and acquisitions group, and was the director of Investor Relations from 2005–2012. In 2012, DeWalt became the corporate controller, and in 2013, he was appointed vice president of the Strategic Services Division.  

Joe Creed Appointed Vice President of Finance Services Division
The company's Board of Directors has appointed Joe Creed, 41, to replace DeWalt as vice president of the Finance Services Division. Creed is currently chief financial officer for Energy & Transportation.

"Joe brings deep expertise in the areas of financial reporting and accounting to this role," Umpleby said. "Over the course of his nearly 20 years with Caterpillar, Joe has held leadership positions in accounting and finance with increasing levels of responsibility at the corporate level, as well as with business units in both our engine and machine businesses," Umpleby added.

Creed has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Western Illinois University. He will assume his new duties January 1, 2017.  

Zack Kauk Appointed Vice President of Excavation Division
Following the previous announcement that Bob De Lange will become group president of Construction Industries, Caterpillar's Board of Directors has appointed Zack Kauk, 49, vice president of the Excavation Division.

Kauk is a 27-year veteran of Caterpillar, and during his career has held multiple leadership positions in engineering and product management roles in Europe, Asia and the United States. He is currently worldwide product manager for medium excavators and is based in Singapore.

"Zack and his team have delivered innovative solutions to enable our customers to maximize productivity. He brings an extensive global product management and engineering background to his new role as the leader of the Excavation Division," Umpleby said.   

Kauk has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Kansas and an MBA from Bradley University. He will assume his new duties January 1, 2017. 

Dave Walton Appointed Vice President of Financial Products Division
The company's Board of Directors has appointed Dave Walton, 54, to replace Adams as president and CEO of Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation and Caterpillar vice president of the Financial Products Division.

Walton is a 28-year Cat Financial veteran and is currently vice president of Cat Financial Services Corporation with administrative responsibility for North America Sales, Cat Mining Finance and Cat Financial Commercial Accounts.

"During his career, Dave has held leadership positions with Cat Financial serving customers across Europe, Asia and the Americas, giving him the broad global perspective required to lead the Financial Products Division. Dave has become known for his dedication to helping our customers succeed," Umpleby said.

Walton has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Indiana University and an MBA from Keller Graduate School in Chicago. He has served on the Asia Pacific Board of Directors for Junior Achievement International. He will assume his new duties April 1, 2017, and will relocate to the Financial Products Division headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee.  

Jill Daugherty Appointed Chief Audit Officer
The Board of Directors has appointed Jill Daugherty, 46, currently Caterpillar's corporate controller, as chief audit officer. In this role, Daugherty will work with the Board Audit Committee and Caterpillar Executive Office to ensure a strong internal control environment. Daugherty joined Caterpillar as an intern in 1990. She has held a series of positions with increasing responsibility in accounting and business support, including senior roles in Asia, Europe and the United States.

Daugherty has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Purdue University and an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. She is a certified public accountant. Daugherty will assume her new position January 1, 2017. The current chief audit officer, Kim Doe, will assume a leadership role within Resource Industries.

Kyle Epley Appointed Corporate Controller
Following the announcement that Jill Daugherty has been appointed chief audit officer, Caterpillar's Board of Directors has appointed Kyle Epley, 44, currently chief financial officer for Customer & Dealer Support, as corporate controller. In this role, Epley will have responsibility for business analysis, business risk management, competitive analysis, economics, strategic planning and strategic investments. Epley joined Caterpillar in 1996 and held a series of positions with growing responsibilities in accounting and finance. Epley has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Bradley University and is a certified public accountant. He will assume his new position January 1, 2017.

About Caterpillar
For 91 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent.  Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure, energy and natural resource assets. With 2015 sales and revenues of $47.011 billion, Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company principally operates through its three product segments - Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation - and also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. For more information, visit caterpillar.com. To connect with us on social media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media. 

Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release relate to future events and expectations and are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe," "estimate," "will be," "will," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "project," "intend," "could," "should" or other similar words or expressions often identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding our outlook, projections, forecasts or trend descriptions. These statements do not guarantee future performance, and we do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.

Caterpillar's actual results may differ materially from those described or implied in our forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) global and regional economic conditions and economic conditions in the industries we serve; (ii) government monetary or fiscal policies and infrastructure spending; (iii) commodity price changes, component price increases, fluctuations in demand for our products or significant shortages of component products; (iv) disruptions or volatility in global financial markets limiting our sources of liquidity or the liquidity of our customers, dealers and suppliers; (v) political and economic risks, commercial instability and events beyond our control in the countries in which we operate; (vi) failure to maintain our credit ratings and potential resulting increases to our cost of borrowing and adverse effects on our cost of funds, liquidity, competitive position and access to capital markets; (vii) our Financial Products segment's risks associated with the financial services industry; (viii) changes in interest rates or market liquidity conditions; (ix) an increase in delinquencies, repossessions or net losses of Cat Financial's customers; (x) new regulations or changes in financial services regulations; (xi) a failure to realize, or a delay in realizing, all of the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; (xii) international trade policies and their impact on demand for our products and our competitive position; (xiii) our ability to develop, produce and market quality products that meet our customers' needs; (xiv) the impact of the highly competitive environment in which we operate on our sales and pricing; (xv) failure to realize all of the anticipated benefits from initiatives to increase our productivity, efficiency and cash flow and to reduce costs; (xvi) additional restructuring costs or a failure to realize anticipated savings or benefits from past or future cost reduction actions; (xvii) inventory management decisions and sourcing practices of our dealers and our OEM customers; (xviii) compliance with environmental laws and regulations; (xix) alleged or actual violations of trade or anti-corruption laws and regulations; (xx) additional tax expense or exposure; (xxi) currency fluctuations; (xxii) our or Cat Financial's compliance with financial covenants; (xxiii) increased pension plan funding obligations; (xxiv) union disputes or other employee relations issues; (xxv) significant legal proceedings, claims, lawsuits or government investigations; (xxvi) changes in accounting standards; (xxvii) failure or breach of IT security; (xxviii) adverse effects of unexpected events including natural disasters; and (xxix) other factors described in more detail under "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 16, 2016 for the year ended December 31, 2015.

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SOURCE Caterpillar