Caterpillar Announces Officer Retirement

PEORIA, Ill., Dec. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Caterpillar Inc. CAT today announced the retirement of Vice President Hans Haefeli and the appointment of a new vice president, Jean Savage, who will replace Haefeli.

Hans Haefeli Retirement

After more than 15 years with Caterpillar, Hans Haefeli, vice president with responsibility for the Advanced Components & Systems Division (ACSD), has elected to retire to return to the United Kingdom. Haefeli's retirement will be effective April 30, 2014.

"Hans came to Caterpillar building on a successful career in which he developed and demonstrated deep expertise in finance and accounting in the United Kingdom—a background that has served him well in both the engine and machine component units he led at Caterpillar," said Steve Wunning, Caterpillar group president with responsibility for Resource Industries. "Hans has also provided outstanding executive leadership these past few years during the development and deployment of the company's connected worksite and telematics strategy. He has always been exceptional in leading his team and working across the enterprise with his collaborative and engaging leadership."

Beginning in 1982, Haefeli worked his way up through positions at UK accounting firms, then held leadership positions, including Finance Director, at British-based building materials company, Hanson PLC.

Haefeli joined Caterpillar in 1998 where he held numerous positions of increasing responsibility at the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Perkins Engine Company Limited in England, before leadership positions in Compact Power Systems and Building Construction Products Divisions. Haefeli became a Caterpillar vice president in 2004, leading the Industrial Power Systems Division before his current role in ACSD. Haefeli has bachelor's and postgraduate (Certification in the Theory of Accounting – CTA) degrees in accounting from the University of Cape Town.

Jean Savage Appointed Vice President

Following the announcement of Haefeli's retirement, Caterpillar's Board of Directors appointed Jean Savage as vice president with responsibility for the Advanced Components & Systems Division. Savage is currently a senior vice president and Chief Operating Officer of the Locomotive and Railcar Services business unit for Caterpillar subsidiary Progress Rail Services (PRS).

"Jean joined Progress Rail Services in 2002, bringing with her more than 20 years of outside business and military leadership experience," said Wunning. "In addition to her deep expertise in the rail business, her significant background in component manufacturing and engineering will serve her well as she leads ACSD."

Savage joined Progress Rail Services in 2002 as vice president for Quality and Continuous Improvement. She also served as vice president of PRS' Freight Car Repair, Parts and Quality Divisions before her most recent position. Prior to joining PRS, she worked in a variety of manufacturing and engineering positions in her 14 years at Parker Hannifin Corporation, a leader in motion and control technologies and systems. That was preceded by nine years in the Army Reserves as a military intelligence officer. Savage has a bachelor's degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a master's degree in engineering management from the University of Dayton. She will assume her new position effective April 1, 2014. 

About Caterpillar:
For more than 85 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent.  With 2012 sales and revenues of $65.875 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 also is a leading services provider through Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services and Progress Rail Services.  More information is available at: http://www.caterpillar.com.

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 economic conditions and economic conditions in the industries and markets we serve; (ii) government monetary or fiscal policies and infrastructure spending; (iii) commodity or component price increases, fluctuations in demand for our products, or limited availability of raw materials and component products, including steel; (iv) our and our customers', dealers' and suppliers' ability to access and manage liquidity; (v) political and economic risks and instability, including national or international conflicts and civil unrest; (vi) our and Cat Financial's ability to: maintain credit ratings, avoid material increases in borrowing costs, and access capital markets; (vii) the financial condition and credit worthiness of Cat Financial's customers; (viii) changes in interest rates or market liquidity; (ix) changes in financial services regulation; (x) inability to realize expected benefits from acquisitions, including ERA Mining Machinery Limited, and divestitures, including the divestiture of the Bucyrus International, Inc. distribution business to our independent dealers; (xi) international trade and investment policies; (xii) market acceptance of our products and services; (xiii) changes in the competitive environment, including market share, pricing and geographic and product mix of sales; (xiv) successful implementation of capacity expansion projects, cost reduction initiatives and efficiency or productivity initiatives, including the Caterpillar Production System; (xv) inventory management decisions and sourcing practices of our dealers or original equipment manufacturers; (xvi) compliance with environmental laws and regulations; (xvii) alleged or actual violations of trade or anti-corruption laws and regulations; (xviii) additional tax expense or exposure; (xix) currency fluctuations; (xx) our or Cat Financial's compliance with financial covenants; (xxi) increased pension plan funding obligations; (xxii) union disputes or other labor matters; (xxiii) significant legal proceedings, claims, lawsuits or investigations; (xxiv) compliance requirements imposed if carbon emissions legislation and/or regulations are adopted; (xxv) changes in accounting standards; (xxvi) failure or breach of information technology security; (xxvii) adverse effects of natural disasters; and (xxviii) other factors described in more detail under "Item 1A.  Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 19, 2013 for the year ended December 31, 2012.  This filing is available on our website at www.caterpillar.com/secfilings. 

SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.