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Caterpillar CEO To Retire In 2017

(AP) -- Caterpillar said Monday that CEO Doug Oberhelman will retire from the company next year and will be replaced by Jim Umpleby, an executive who has worked at the construction and mining equipment company for more than three decades.

Oberhelman, 63, will leave Peoria-based Caterpillar at the end of March. He has been CEO since 2010 and has been with the company for more than 41 years.

Umpleby, who is 58 years old, is currently the president of Caterpillar's energy and transportation group.

When Oberhelman retires, he will also step down from his position as chairman of the board and be replaced by board member Dave Calhoun as non-executive chairman. Calhoun is an executive of private equity firm The Blackstone Group LP.

Caterpillar has been dealing with falling sales because its customers have been hurt by falling oil prices and slower economic growth around the world, causing them to buy less equipment from Caterpillar.

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. slipped 23 cents to $87.44 in morning trading Monday. Its shares are up about 25 percent in the last 12 months.

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