2 August 2010 | Lindsay Clark
Construction and heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar has appointed Frank Crespo as chief procurement officer.
He will be responsible for the global purchasing division, starting on 16 August. He has considerable procurement experience and an MBA from Harvard, and will report to group president Steve Wunning. In 2009 Caterpillar reported revenues of $32.4 billion (£20.5 billion).
Crespo is currently vice-president and CPO at industrial technology and control systems firm Honeywell International.
“We are fortunate to bring Frank on board with Caterpillar,” Wunning said. “He brings an extensive record of driving successful supplier collaboration, which is one of the key operating principles embedded in Caterpillar’s enterprise strategy.”
Prior to joining Honeywell, Crespo was director of global category management at IT services firm EDS, which has become part of Hewlett-Packard (HP). He was responsible for creating a global commodity management structure across each business unit. Crespo has also served in senior procurement roles at technology firms Praxair, Texas Instruments and HP.
He graduated from the US Naval Academy before serving as a nuclear submarine officer as the department head for supply, where he managed a large inventory and logistics budget for the US navy. He went on to serve an additional 18 years in the naval reserve and retired as a captain.
