Caterpillar Inc. announced changes to its Executive Office with the retirements of Group Presidents William (Billy) P. Ainsworth and Ramin Younessi at year-end 2020, and appointments of Joseph (Joe) E. Creed and Anthony (Tony) D. Fassino, effective Jan. 1, 2021.
Ainsworth is currently the Group President of the 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).
"Billy brought valuable external perspective to Caterpillar with his entrepreneurial background, broad business experience and customer focus," said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby. "His exemplary leadership in growing services will leave a legacy that will benefit the company for years to come. We thank him for his significant contributions to Caterpillar's success and wish him a long and happy retirement."
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.
The board of directors has appointed Creed as the new Group President of E&T. Creed is currently Vice President of the Caterpillar Oil & Gas and Marine and Electric Power Divisions.
"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 Umpleby.
Creed joined Caterpillar in 1997 and has held numerous accounting and finance positions of increasing responsibility 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.
Ramin Younessi and Anthony (Tony) D. Fassino
Younessi is currently the Group President of Construction Industries (CI), which includes the Earthmoving, Excavation, Building Construction Products (BCP), China Operations, Global Construction & Infrastructure and Strategic Procurement Divisions, as well as Global Rental and Used Equipment Services.
"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. We will miss his energy and enthusiasm and wish him well in his retirement."
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.
Caterpillar's board of directors appointed Fassino to succeed Younessi as Group President of CI. He is currently Vice President of the Building Construction Products Division.
"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."
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.