Analytics, Innovation Sparks New Caterpillar Division
Construction equipment customers are seeing the importance of data analytics and Caterpillar Inc. has plans to focus on growing that segment of its business through its newly formed Analytics & Innovation Division.
In March, Caterpillar Inc. announced that it formed a technology and predictive analytics agreement with Chicago-based Uptake and April 10, the company announced the formation of the Analytics & Innovation division.
The new division, led by Caterpillar vice president Greg Folley, aims to capitalize on the growing importance and excitement of data analytics and to drive innovation to support customers. Analytics & Innovation will bring together the people and resources that will foster a culture with innovation at the core, form a broad and connected analytics ecosystem and manage strategic third party relationships with providers like Uptake.
Caterpillar will co-locate key employees with the Uptake team in Chicago to accelerate the work needed to create a platform that takes massive amounts of data, combines it with data science to understand patterns and quickly deploys information to save customers money, optimize performance and prevent unplanned downtime.
“We know that technology and information are the drivers in almost every industry including ours; we have to continue pushing our company to be innovative – to imagine, create, and embrace the new and the different, and to be disruptive in our own way,” said Rob Charter, Caterpillar group president with responsibility for the Customer & Dealer Support division. “A huge opportunity for competitive advantage lies in the analytics and innovation space, and we have a unique opportunity to connect data from the broadest product line that cuts across multiple industries. We can transform the mountains of incoming data – from a single machine or engine, an entire job site, the supply chain, a shipping location and much more – into valuable information for our customers and suppliers more efficiently and effectively than anyone else. As the vice president of Reman, Components & Work Tools since 2011, Greg has led the organization to adopt innovative technologies, making him the ideal choice for this new position.”
The company is also placing resources in the Silicon Valley and has seeded money in a venture capital fund with the goal of investing in emerging technologies that could further enhance Caterpillar’s product and service development. All of these activities under the umbrella of the Analytics & Innovation division will complement the innovative work that thousands of Caterpillar employees are already doing around the world.
Since joining Caterpillar in 1995, Folley has held numerous positions including senior labor relations consultant, human resources manager, corporate labor relations manager, U.K. HR Shared Services director, director of Compensation and Benefits and general manager of the Specialty Products Business Unit of Motion and Power Control Division. In 2008, the Caterpillar Board of Directors named Folley vice president of the Core Components Division, and in 2009, he was appointed vice president of the Human Services Division. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame, and has completed the Executive Program at Stanford University.
With Folley leading Analytics & Innovation, Doug Hoerr will now become the vice president with responsibility for the Reman, Components & Work Tools Division, reporting to Charter. Hoerr is currently the vice president of the Strategic Services Division.
“Doug’s more than two decades of experience ranging from accounting, to business manager in several Caterpillar groups to his work on strategic acquisitions and divestitures are a strong foundation for leading the diverse Reman, Components & Work Tools group, which must closely collaborate with units across the company,” said Charter. “He has fantastic business acumen and, as the former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Customer & Dealer Support division, he comes to the table with deep expertise of Reman, Components & Work Tools ‘s business.”
Hoerr began his 21-year career with Caterpillar in accounting. He held several accounting and business analysis roles throughout the company, including senior leadership positions in Caterpillar’s engines business. He served as the senior business manager for Large Power Systems & Growth Markets, and in 2012, was named CFO for the Customer & Dealer Support group. Caterpillar’s Board of Directors appointed him vice president of Strategic Services Division in 2014. Hoerr holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois. He is also a certified public accountant.
All changes are effective May 1.
Tags: caterpillar, Data Analytics, Innovation
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