Donald Vester Fites (born 1934) was the chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, Inc. from 1990 to 1999.

Early life

Don Fites was born in 1934 in

Tippecanoe, Indiana Tippecanoe ( ) is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Tippecanoe Township, Marshall County, Indiana, Tippecanoe Township, Marshall County, Indiana, Marshall County, Indiana, United States. Histo ...

. He attended

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

, where he joined

Phi Kappa Psi Phi Kappa Psi (), commonly known as Phi Psi, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania in 1852. The fraternity has over ninety chapters at accredited four-year colleges and uni ...

. He graduated with a B.S. in

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

in 1956, and soon after joined Caterpillar. He attended

in 1956. He then attended the

MIT Sloan School of Management The MIT Sloan School of Management (branded as MIT Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree progra ...

as a

Sloan Fellow The Sloan Fellows program is a middle and senior-career master's degree program in general management and leadership offered at MIT, Stanford University, and London Business School (LBS). Initially supported by a grant from Alfred P. Sloan, fo ...

, and received his

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

in 1971.

Career

He attained the position of vice president at Caterpillar in 1981, and then executive vice president in 1985. 1990 marked Don's elevation to the positions of chief executive officer and chairman of the board, which he held until he reached the mandatory retirement age in 1999.

References

External links

My Salvation Army Board - National Advisory Board MembersAn Interview with Donald V. Fites
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fites, Donald V. People from Tippecanoe County, Indiana People from Peoria, Illinois Valparaiso University alumni MIT Sloan School of Management alumni MIT Sloan Fellows Caterpillar Inc. people Living people 1934 births