
Douglas R. Oberhelman (born February 25, 1953) was the CEO of Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria, Illinois.
Oberhelman was raised in Woodstock, Illinois, where his father worked as a salesman for John Deere. He attended Millikin University, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1975.
His wife, Diane Oberhelman, is the chairwoman of Cullinan Properties Ltd. In 2011, Oberhelman earned an income (including stock options, bonuses, etc.) of $16.9 million, representing a sixty percent increase over his earnings from the previous year.
Regarding his professional career, Oberhelman joined Caterpillar shortly after graduating in 1975. Twenty years later, in 1995, he became a Vice President at Caterpillar and served as Chief Financial Officer from 1995 to 1998.
In September 2009, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the World Resources Institute. He became CEO following the retirement of Jim Owens on July 1, 2010, and was appointed Executive Chairman of the Board on November 1, 2010.
He also served on the board of Ameren Corporation until April 27, 2010.
Oberhelman was Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the Business Council in 2013 and 2014.
In January 2017, he was succeeded as CEO by Donald James Umpleby III.