New Group Presidents For Cat Engines, Construction Equipment

Caterpillar Inc. announced changes to its Executive Office including a move at the top of the division that oversees its engine operations, as well as its main machinery group.

Group Presidents William (Billy) P. Ainsworth and Ramin Younessi will retire at year-end 2020.  Joseph (Joe) E. Creed and Anthony (Tony) D. Fassino, respectively, will step into those positions effective January 1, 2021.

Energy & Transportation

Ainsworth is currently the group president of Cat’s Energy & Transportation (E&T) segment, which includes the Rail Division, Solar Turbines,

Large Power Systems Division, Industrial Power Systems Division, Electric Power Division (EPD) and Caterpillar Oil & Gas and Marine Division (COGMD).

Creed is the new group president of E&T. He is currently vice president of the Caterpillar Oil & Gas and Marine and Electric Power Divisions. Creed joined Caterpillar in 1997 and has held numerous accounting and finance positions across multiple divisions of Caterpillar. He was promoted to vice president of Caterpillar’s Finance Services Division in 2017, served as interim chief financial officer in 2018 and became vice president of COGMD in 2019. He assumed EPD responsibility in 2020.

Ainsworth joined the company as a vice president in 2006 when Caterpillar Inc. acquired his company, Progress Rail Services. In 2017, he became a senior vice president and strategic advisor to the Executive Office, in addition to his responsibilities for the Rail Division. He was appointed group president of E&T in 2019.

“Joe’s extensive financial expertise across our engine and machine businesses combined with his recent role leading our oil & gas, marine and electric power divisions position him well to lead E&T, grow services and contribute to our customers’ continued success,” said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby.

Construction Industries

Currently vice president of the Building Construction Products Division (BCP), Fassino will succeed Younessi as group president of the

Construction Industries (CI). CI includes the Earthmoving, Excavation, (BCP), China Operations, Global Construction & Infrastructure and Strategic Procurement Divisions, as well as Global Rental and Used Equipment Services.

After joining Caterpillar in 1996, Fassino held a variety of positions around the world, including several sales and technical field assignments in the U.S. and Canada as well as the new product introduction manager for excavators in Japan. He led the Eastern U.S. Region Distribution Services team and served as director of Caterpillar Worldwide Forest Products before becoming the vice president of BCP in 2018.

Younessi joined Caterpillar in 2013 after serving in several executive and senior leadership positions with Daimler AG and Navistar Inc. Prior to his appointment as group president, Younessi was vice president of Caterpillar’s Industrial Power Systems Division. He was appointed group president of Caterpillar’s E&T segment in 2018, and in 2019 he became group president of CI.

“Tony’s strong product knowledge, commitment to operational excellence and experience working with Caterpillar’s dealer network make him ideally suited to lead our CI segment,” said Umpleby. “He will focus on accelerating services growth while making our customers more successful.”

“Ramin successfully leveraged his extensive global business experience in the commercial vehicle and engine industries to help us improve Caterpillar’s competitive and flexible cost structure,” said Umpleby. “His engineering and supply chain expertise has had a positive impact on the enterprise.”