Caterpillar Inc.

James W. Owens is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. He has held the posts from 1 February 2004 through 2010. After joining the... company in 1972 as a corporate economist, he has held numerous management positions. Owens was named chief economist of Caterpillar Overseas S.A. in Geneva, Switzerland in 1975. From 1980 until 1987 he held managerial positions in Peoria in the Accounting and Product Source Planning Departments. In 1987 he became managing director of P.T. Natra Raya, Caterpillar's joint venture in Indonesia. He held that position until 1990, when he was elected a corporate vice president and named president of Solar Turbines Incorporated, a Caterpillar subsidiary in San Diego. In 1993 he came to Peoria as vice president and chief financial officer with administrative responsibility for the Corporate Services Division. In 1995, Owens was named a group president and member of Caterpillar’s Executive Office.
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Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007. The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical... Area had a population of 373,590 in 2011, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state after the Chicago metropolitan area, the Metro-East portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area, and the Rockford metropolitan area. Peoria has become famous as a representation of the average American city because of its demographics and its perceived mainstream Midwestern culture. On the Vaudeville circuit, it was said that if an act would succeed in Peoria, it would work anywhere. The question "Will it play in Peoria?" has now become a metaphor for whether something appeals to the American mainstream public. Peoria is the home of Ray LaHood, now serving as Secretary of Transportation in President Obama's cabinet. It is also headquarters for Caterpillar Inc., one of the 30 companies composing the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
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