D. James (Jim) Umpleby III is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Caterpillar Inc.
Jim joined Solar Turbines, a Caterpillar subsidiary, in 1980 as an associate engineer. In his 40 years with the company, he has gained extensive industry and international experience through a wide variety of leadership roles. Jim was appointed President of Solar Turbines and Vice President of Caterpillar in 2010. From 2013 to 2016, he led Caterpillar’s Energy & Transportation business segment as Group President. Jim has served as Caterpillar’s CEO since January 1, 2017. He was elected Chairman of Caterpillar’s Board of Directors in December of 2018.
As Chairman and CEO, Jim leads a team of 102,000 employees in nearly 60 countries. He launched the company’s strategy for profitable growth and is overseeing its successful execution. The strategy’s main components are operational excellence, expanded offerings and services, which build on what Caterpillar has done since its founding in 1925—drive positive change on every continent.
With 2019 revenues of nearly $54 billion, the Deerfield, Illinois-based company is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. Whether building the world’s infrastructure, mining essential commodities or extracting the fuels to satisfy global energy demand, customers use Caterpillar solutions to help build a better world.
Jim graduated from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. 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. Jim is also a trustee of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and is a member of Business Roundtable, the Business Council, and the National Petroleum Council.
