Core Summary

  • Caterpillar, headquartered in Irving, Texas, announced on Wednesday the appointment of a company veteranKyle Epley as its next Chief Financial Officer, effective May 1. Epley will succeed current CFO Andrew Bonfield, who is retiring after serving as the financial chief since joining the company in 2018.
  • Bonfield's tenure saw significant company growth. The construction equipment manufacturer reported record full-year sales and revenue for 2025, while also hitting new highs in the fourth quarter of 2025. Its fourth-quarter sales and revenuegrew 18% to $19.1 billion, which the company disclosed in January.
  • "Andrew's leadership has been critical to Caterpillar's success," Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Joe Creed said in the announcement. "Under Andrew, our global finance organization has become a strategic advantage for the enterprise, and his impact will be felt long after his retirement."

In-Depth Analysis

As part of the transition process, Bonfield will serve in an advisory role until October 1.

Epley currently serves as Senior Vice President of Global Financial Services and has nearly three decades of experience at the company, having held roles including divisional CFO and corporate controller. He is a certified public accountant and holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Bradley University, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Bonfield's financial experience spans multiple industries. Before joining Caterpillar, he served as Group CFO at National Grid, a UK-based multinational electricity and gas utility company, for nearly eight years, according to his LinkedIn account. Prior to that, he served as CFO at Cadbury plc for about a year and as CFO of pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb from 2002 to 2008.

Bonfield, named 2025 CFO of the Year by the CFO Leadership Council and Chief Executive Group, brought an external perspective to Caterpillar, a company that typically favors internal promotions, according to a profile of Bonfield by Vincent Ryan on the CFO Leadership website.

"What Bonfield helped the organization unlock and demonstrate to the outside world, especially Wall Street, is a value-creation machine whose disciplined capital investment model directs resources to markets and businesses with the best future growth potential," the article stated. "Over the past five years, CAT shares have risen more than 200%, compared with a roughly 90% gain in the industry index and a 93% rise for rival Deere & Company. That performance prompted Bonfield's peer group to name him our 2025 CFO of the Year."