Caterpillar Inc. Executive To Speak At Baylor Oct. 21
James S. Beard, president of Caterpillar Financial Services and vice president of Caterpillar Inc., will speak at Baylor University on Oct. 21, as part of the Ben H. Williams Distinguished Speakers Series.
by Alan Hunt
Baylor alumnus James S. Beard, president of Caterpillar Financial Services and vice president of Caterpillar Inc., will speak at Baylor University on Oct. 21, as part of the Ben H. Williams Distinguished Speakers Series sponsored by the Hankamer School of Business.
Beard will speak at a noon lunch attended by Waco and Central Texas community leaders and students on the fifth floor of the Cashion Academic Building at the business school. His topic will be "Values: Making a Difference."
A 1963 Baylor business graduate, Beard also holds an MBA from Harvard University. He has administrative responsibility for Caterpillar's Financial Products Division, which is comprised of Caterpillar Financial Services Corp., Caterpillar Insurance Services Corp., Caterpillar Power Ventures Corp. and Caterpillar Redistribution Services. Since joining Caterpillar in 1965, he has held positions of increasing responsibility as finance manager for Caterpillar Brasil S.A., assistant sales manager for Caterpillar Americas Co., and regional finance manager for the U.S. Commercial Division. He has also held a leadership position with Caterpillar Financial since its formation in 1981.
Caterpillar Inc. is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines. A Fortune 500 company, Caterpillar posted 2001 sales and revenues of $20.45 billion - $275 million higher than 2000.
Beard's civic activities include serving on the Baptist Hospital Corporate Board, United Way of Middle Tennessee, PENCIL Foundation, Iron Planet Inc., the Tennessee Association of Business, Belmont University's Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Cheekwood Museum. He is also vice chairman of the Equipment Leasing Association.
The Ben H. Williams Distinguished Speakers Series honors the memory of Ben Williams, who was a member of the 1923 charter class of Baylor's School of Commerce and Business Administration -- today's Hankamer School of Business. An Outstanding Alumnus of Baylor and a trustee of the university, Williams endowed a fellowship in 1953 that today funds five separate professorships at Baylor. For more information about the Oct. 21 program, call 710-6190.