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Donald R. Fites
Valparaiso '53

Don served as chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc. from June 1990 until his retirement in February 1999, leading Caterpillar to sales and revenues increases of 83% during this period. His leadership capped over 42 years at Caterpillar, which included 16 overseas management positions, including area manager of Southern Africa; area manager of Central Europe; marketing director of Caterpillar Mitsubishi Ltd. in Tokyo; and president of Caterpillar Brazil S.A. in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Don holds a bachelor's degree from Valparaiso University and a master's degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a Sloan Fellow. In 1994, he was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from Bradley University, and in May 1998 an honorary doctor of laws degree from Valparaiso University. In 1998, Phi Kappa Psi awarded him with a National Leadership Award for his exceptional accomplishments in corporate leadership.

Don is an active volunteer and serves as a director of Exxon Mobil Corporation, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., Wolverine World Wide, AK Steel Corporation and Oshkosh Truck Corporation. He also serves as a member of the Board of Advisors of Thayer Capital Partners and as a trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. A leading proponent of free trade, he is a past chairman of The Business Roundtable, the US-Japan Business Council, the National Foreign Trade Council and the Equipment Manufacturers' Institute; a member of the Illinois Economic Development Board; a director of the National Association of Manufacturers; a member of the Business Council and a former member of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.