Glen Barton, former chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, died Oct. 24 at age 77. According to Caterpillar, Barton, a 2015 Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame inductee, served the company for nearly 43 years. He spent the last of those five years in leadership roles.
Barton joined Cat in 1961 and held a number of marketing and general management positions. He worked for Caterpillar Overseas S.A. in Geneva, Switzerland, where he served in various marketing positions, from 1964 to 1968. He then served as manager for South American sales from 1972 to 1975. In 1977, he became manager of the company’s merchandising division general offices.
In 1983, Barton moved to Mentor, Ohio, to become the U.S. sales and product support manager for Caterpillar’s industrial lift truck division. He served as manager of products control from 1984 to 1986 and was elected vice president of Caterpillar and president of Solar Turbines in 1987.
In 1989, Barton became executive vice president with responsibility for worldwide marketing. In 1990, he became group president with responsibility for the design, development and production of most of the company’s line of forest, mining and construction equipment. Finally, in 1999, he was named chairman and CEO of the company.
“The Caterpillar family is extremely saddened by Glen’s passing,” says Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman. “Glen’s legacy of leadership extends far beyond Caterpillar’s walls. His commitment to Peoria and our communities was remarkable. I’ll start with his Caterpillar leadership. He rose through the Caterpillar ranks, starting in 1961 as a college graduate trainee. Under his leadership, Caterpillar fully embraced 6 Sigma. It brought remarkable improvements throughout the company, including an intense focus on quality and safety. We continue that focus today, and 6 Sigma remains our foundation for continuous improvement. We are forever indebted to him for his commitment to making Caterpillar a stronger company.”
