Otto Breitschwerdt
Senior Vice President, Building Construction Products / Caterpillar Inc.
Otto Breitschwerdt is a senior vice president of Caterpillar Inc. with responsibility for the Building Construction Products Division. In this role he provides global leadership over Caterpillar’s line of small, versatile construction machines and work tools. The Building Construction Products Division’s (BCP) footprint spans 9 countries today with more than 7,000 employees.
Breitschwerdt joined Caterpillar in 1990 and has served in a variety of positions in sales, marketing, operations, engineering and supply chain. Prior to being appointed senior vice president, he was a general manager in BCP with global responsibility for the manufacturing, design and marketing of the small wheel loader, compact wheel loader, compact track loader and skid steer loader product families. Before that, Breitschwerdt spent time in a variety of other assignments in the U.S. and Brazil, including eastern U.S. region manager, BCP engineering and supply chain director and Brazil district manager. He also spent three years as plant manager for the Campo Largo facility in Brazil, where he managed the start-up of the facility, from construction to full production of small wheel loaders and backhoe loaders.
Breitschwerdt earned a degree in agricultural engineering from the University of São Paulo in Brazil and is also a graduate of Caterpillar’s Digging Deep” program offered by Stanford University. In addition to his role as director on the Association of Equipment Manufacturers Construction Equipment Sector Board, Breitschwerdt serves as a director on the FFA Board, the NC State University’s Shelton Board of Advisors and The United Way of the Greater Triangle. He previously served on boards for the Association of Equipment Distributors Foundation and the American Chamber of Commerce in Brazil. Breitschwerdt is certified as an executive coach through the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC) and certified in emotional intelligence through Multi-Health Systems Inc.
About Caterpillar For more than 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure, energy and natural resource assets. With 2017 sales and revenues of $45.462 billion, Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company principally operates through its three primary segments - Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation - and also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. For more information, visit caterpillar.com. To connect with us on social media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media.