Cat creates new analytics division
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- Published on Friday, 10 April 2015 16:42
- Written by Paul Gordon
Caterpillar Inc. announced Friday it will create a new division that will unite people and resources for data analytics while driving innovation.
The Analytics & Innovation Division, which will be headed by Caterpillar Vice President Greg Folley, will enable the company to better capitalize “on the growing importance and excitement of data analytics and to drive innovation to support customers,” the company said.
Formation of the new division and personnel changes that will result take effect May 1.
“The division 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 likeChicago-based Uptake, a start-up with which the company recently announced a technology and predictive analytics agreement,” the company said in a news release.
Caterpillar and Uptake will 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.
“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 AI division will complement the innovative work that thousands of Caterpillar employees are already doing around the world — a trait that has been critical to Caterpillar's success since the formation of the company 90 years ago,” the release said.
Rob Charter, Caterpillar group president responsible for the Customer & Dealer Support Division, said the new division will enable the company “to be innovative; to imagine, create, and embrace the new and the different, and to be disruptive in our own way."
He continued, "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 (RCWT) since 2011, (Folley) has led the organization to adopt innovative technologies, making him the ideal choice for this new position."
Folley has been with Caterpillar since 1995 and 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. He was named a vice president in 2008.
With Folley leading Analytics & Innovation, Doug Hoerrwill now become vice president responsible for the RCWT Division, reporting to Charter. Hoerr is currently vice president of the Strategic Services Division (SSD).
Hoerr has been with Caterpillar for 21 years, starting in accounting, and was named vice president of the Strategic Service Division in 2014.
"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 RCWT group, which must closely collaborate with units across the company," said Charter.
Caterpillar said the functions of the Strategic Services Division will be incorporated into the Finance Services Division led by Vice PresidentMike DeWalt.
