Caterpillar CEO Oberhelman to step down in March

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), the world's No.1 heavy machinery maker, will lose its iconic chairman and chief executive officer early next year, as Doug Oberhelman has decided to retire effective March 31 after more than 41 years with the company.

Jim Umpleby, group president for energy and transportation, will succeed Oberhelman as CEO from Jan. 1, while the current head of CAT will remain as chairman until March, the company said.

Oberhelman, who took helm in 2010, pushed Caterpillar deeper into mining equipment at a time when the industry was at its prime. He spent almost $10 billion on plants and equipment in his first three years at the top post and was key in the 2011 acquisition of Bucyrus International Inc., a Milwaukee mining-equipment maker, which made CAT a stronger in the segment of giant open-pit-mining shovels and underground-mining machines.

More to come…

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