Jim Umpleby

Jim Umpleby
Born	Donald James Umpleby III
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive
Title	Executive Chairman, Caterpillar Inc.
Employer	Caterpillar Inc.
Known for	Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc.
Spouse(s)	Katherine Umpleby
Children	2
Website	[caterpillar.com Official site]

Donald James "Jim" Umpleby III is an American business executive who served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, from January 2017 to May 2025. He has served as chairman of the Caterpillar board of directors since December 2018, and transitioned to the role of executive chairman upon the conclusion of his tenure as CEO. Umpleby spent his entire career at Caterpillar and its subsidiaries, rising through the ranks over more than three decades before being named to the company's top leadership position. During his time as CEO, he focused the company on improving shareholder returns and operational efficiency. In January 2026, Caterpillar announced that CEO Joe Creed would succeed Umpleby as chairman of the board effective April 1, 2026, following Umpleby's planned retirement from the chairmanship.

Early Life

Jim Umpleby was born Donald James Umpleby III. Details about his early childhood and upbringing remain limited in publicly available records. His father, Donald James Umpleby Jr., was an educator and community figure. Umpleby grew up in an environment that valued education, which would later influence his academic and professional trajectory.

Little additional information about Umpleby's early life has been documented in published sources. What is known is that he developed an interest in engineering and technology during his formative years, ultimately leading him to pursue a degree in engineering at a respected technical institution. His early life set the stage for a career that would span more than three decades at one of the world's largest industrial companies.

Education

Umpleby attended the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a private engineering college located in Terre Haute, Indiana. He graduated in 1980 with a degree from the institution. Rose-Hulman is known for its focus on science, engineering, and mathematics education, and has consistently ranked among the top undergraduate engineering programs in the United States.

Umpleby maintained a connection with Rose-Hulman throughout his career. In 2018, after becoming CEO of Caterpillar, he was invited to return to the institution to deliver the commencement address, reflecting the significance of the relationship between the executive and his alma mater.

Career

Early Career at Caterpillar and Solar Turbines

After graduating from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 1980, Umpleby began his career at Caterpillar Inc. He spent the bulk of his early career working within Solar Turbines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar based in San Diego, California, that designs, manufactures, and services industrial gas turbine systems.

At Solar Turbines, Umpleby held a variety of roles of increasing responsibility over many years. His tenure at the subsidiary provided him with deep expertise in energy systems, industrial manufacturing, and global business operations. Solar Turbines operates in a specialized segment of the energy industry, providing turbomachinery products and services to customers in the oil and gas, power generation, and industrial processing sectors worldwide. Umpleby's long tenure at the subsidiary gave him a thorough understanding of Caterpillar's operations outside of its more well-known construction and mining equipment divisions.

Over time, Umpleby rose to lead Solar Turbines, serving as a group president within Caterpillar's corporate structure. His leadership at the subsidiary helped position him as a candidate for senior roles within the broader Caterpillar organization. His experience managing a global business unit with operations spanning multiple continents was seen as a significant qualification as Caterpillar considered its next generation of leadership.

Group President at Caterpillar

Prior to being named CEO, Umpleby served as a group president at Caterpillar with responsibility for the Energy & Transportation segment, one of the company's major business divisions. This segment encompassed Caterpillar's businesses related to reciprocating engines, turbines, diesel-electric locomotives, and related services. The role gave Umpleby oversight of a significant portion of Caterpillar's revenue and global operations, further expanding his leadership profile within the company.

His background in the energy and transportation side of the business distinguished him from some other potential CEO candidates who had come up through the more traditional construction equipment divisions. When the Caterpillar board of directors began the process of selecting a successor to CEO Douglas R. Oberhelman, Umpleby's broad operational experience and track record of results made him a leading contender for the position.

CEO of Caterpillar (2017–2025)

On January 1, 2017, Umpleby succeeded Douglas R. Oberhelman as CEO of Caterpillar Inc. The transition came at a challenging time for the company, which had been navigating a prolonged downturn in the global mining and energy sectors. The appointment of Umpleby, with his deep roots in the energy side of Caterpillar's business, signaled the board's interest in a leader who could manage the company through a period of industry transition.

Upon taking office, Umpleby articulated a strategic focus on improving returns for shareholders. In a 2017 interview with Barron's, the new CEO outlined his approach, emphasizing operational discipline, cost management, and capital allocation as key priorities for his tenure. Barron's noted the shift in leadership style, characterizing Umpleby's arrival as a notable change in the company's direction.

During his tenure as CEO, Umpleby led Caterpillar through a period that included recovery in several of the company's end markets, particularly in construction and infrastructure spending. He also oversaw the company's response to shifting global economic conditions, trade policy changes, and the evolving demands of the energy transition. Under his leadership, Caterpillar maintained its position as the largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment in the world.

Umpleby served as CEO for more than eight years, making his one of the longer tenures in that role in Caterpillar's modern history. Throughout this period, he continued to emphasize a strategy centered on operational excellence and profitable growth.

Chairman of the Board

On December 13, 2018, Caterpillar's board of directors elected Umpleby as chairman of the board, succeeding Dave Calhoun in the role. The combined role of chairman and CEO gave Umpleby consolidated leadership over both the company's management and its board governance.

Umpleby continued to serve in the dual role of chairman and CEO until April 2025, when the company announced a leadership transition. On April 15, 2025, Caterpillar announced that Umpleby would transition from his combined chairman and CEO role to the position of executive chairman, effective May 1, 2025. Chief Operating Officer Joe Creed was elected by the board as the company's next CEO. The succession plan had been developed over time, reflecting the board's focus on ensuring continuity of leadership at the company.

Following the transition, Umpleby remained executive chairman of the board. In January 2026, Caterpillar announced that Creed would succeed Umpleby as chairman of the board effective April 1, 2026, coinciding with Umpleby's planned retirement from the chairmanship.

Board Service Outside Caterpillar

In addition to his role at Caterpillar, Umpleby was appointed to the board of directors of Chevron Corporation in 2018. His election to the Chevron board followed the departure of former Chevron CEO John Watson and reflected the energy industry connections Umpleby had developed during his long career at Solar Turbines and Caterpillar's Energy & Transportation division.

Personal Life

Jim Umpleby is married to Katherine Umpleby. The couple has two children. During his tenure as CEO, Umpleby was based in the Chicago, Illinois, metropolitan area, where Caterpillar relocated its global headquarters from Peoria, Illinois, in 2017. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he had been based in San Diego, California, for much of his career due to his long association with Solar Turbines.

In September 2025, following his transition from the CEO role, Umpleby sold close to $8 million worth of Caterpillar stock, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Reports noted that despite the sale, Umpleby retained a substantial holding in Caterpillar shares.

Recognition

Umpleby's leadership at Caterpillar drew attention from financial media and industry analysts throughout his tenure. In October 2025, CNBC host Jim Cramer discussed Caterpillar's performance and referred to Umpleby in positive terms regarding his leadership of the company.

In 2018, Umpleby was invited to deliver the commencement address at his alma mater, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, an honor reflecting his stature as one of the institution's most prominent graduates. His selection as commencement speaker came shortly after he had assumed the combined role of chairman and CEO at Caterpillar.

Umpleby's appointment to the Chevron Corporation board of directors in 2018 was also seen as a recognition of his standing in the American business community, particularly in the energy and industrial sectors.

Legacy

Jim Umpleby's career at Caterpillar spanned more than four decades, from his start as an engineer at Solar Turbines in 1980 to his planned retirement as chairman in April 2026. His trajectory — from a newly graduated engineer at a subsidiary to the top leadership position at one of America's largest industrial companies — represented a career built entirely within a single corporate organization, a path that has become less common among Fortune 500 CEOs.

His tenure as CEO, which lasted more than eight years, was marked by an emphasis on financial discipline, shareholder returns, and operational efficiency. He led the company during a period of recovery from the commodity downturn of the mid-2010s and navigated Caterpillar through periods of global economic uncertainty.

The succession plan that Umpleby and the board executed — first transitioning the CEO role to Joe Creed in May 2025, then the chairmanship in April 2026 — reflected a deliberate approach to leadership continuity at a company with a market capitalization among the largest in the industrial sector.

Umpleby's career also illustrated the role that Caterpillar's subsidiary operations, particularly Solar Turbines, have played in developing senior leadership talent for the parent company. His deep expertise in the energy and transportation side of Caterpillar's business brought a different perspective to the CEO role compared to predecessors who had come up through the construction equipment divisions.