Caterpillar has announced the elective retirement Doug Hoerr, the VP for its material handling and underground (MH&U) division, effective 1 August, after 24 years of service.
Caterpillar has in turn appointed a new VP for the division, and has reshuffled the responsibilities of two further VPs..
“For more than 20 years of his career with Caterpillar, Doug worked in a wide range of accounting and finance roles with increasing levels of responsibility and global scope,” said Jim Umpleby, Caterpillar CEO.
“In 2012, Doug was named group CFO for customer and dealer support, a position he held until being named a Caterpillar VP in 2015.”
In his role as CFO for customer and dealer support, Hoerr was instrumental in coordinating key elements of Caterpillar’s Across the Table initiative, which drove improved performance and alignment between the manufacturer and its global network of dealers.
Most recently, Hoerr led the execution of Caterpillar’s operating and execution model within MH&U, resulting in a restructuring of the operational footprint of the division.
Hoerr originally joined Caterpillar in 1993 from accounting firm of McGladrey, where he worked on auditing and corporate tax.
Hoerr’s replacement is Karl Weiss, Caterpillar’s VP for earthmoving, who will now take on the role of VP of MH&U from 1 August, 2017.
Since joining Caterpillar in 1992, Weiss has had various assignments within product development at Caterpillar’s Decatur, Joliet and Aurora, Illinois facilities in the USA, where he focused on large machine structural design.
Weiss then transferred to Geneva, Switzerland, where he worked as an equipment consultant with the global mining division, serving customers and dealers in Europe and Africa.
He also spent four years in Beijing, China, where he acted as the wheel loader product manager for the Asia Pacific Region.
Weiss graduated from Purdue University with a degree in agricultural engineering and an MBA from Northern Illinois University.
Weiss is in turn being replaced as VP for earthmoving by Frederic Istas, the manager for the global aftermarket solutions division.
Istas joined Caterpillar in 1996 as part of the Europe, Africa amd Middle East marketing division, based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a Six Sigma black belt and master black belt.
Istas was named manager for marketing in the EMEA region in 2004, and global process owner in the global revenue management group based in Peoria, Illinois in 2008.
In 2011, he became regional product manager for the excavation division based in Europe.
Istas graduated in electromechanics from Industriele Hogeschool in Gent, Belgium.
