Don fites biography

          Early life..

          Donald V. Fites

          Donald V. Fites served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Caterpillar Inc. from June 1990 until his retirement in February 1999.

          Donald Vester Fites was the chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, Inc. from to

        1. Donald V Fites is Former Chairman/CEO at Caterpillar Inc. See Donald V Fites's compensation, career history, education, & memberships.
        2. Early life.
        3. Speaker Bio​​ Donald V. Fites was the Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, Inc. from to During his tenure as CEO, Fites grew Caterpillar, the world's #1.
        4. "Mr. Fites' plus years with Caterpillar included 16 years in overseas management positions in South Africa, Central Europe, Japan and Brazil.

          5. He spent a total of 42 years with Caterpillar, 16 of which were overseas. Fites was instrumental in providing the momentum for product and market innovations and new ventures. For example, in 1975 he directed a study of engine capacity that set the course for the growth of the company's engine business into the 1990s.

          During the 1980s he oversaw creation of the Caterpillar Logistics Services program, which markets the company's parts distribution capabilities to other companies.

          His contributions helped Caterpillar increase quality through product and process redesign.

          For example, from 1987 to the mid-1990s, Caterpillar decreased equipment production time from 25 assembly days to six, and reduced in-process inventories by 60 percent. In the mid-1970s, Fites introduced engineering with cross-functional Japanese-style teams