| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Jennifer Handt
(202) 496-3288 |
| September 25, 2006 |
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Will Work to Promote Expanded U.S. Trade and Investment
Agenda
Washington, DC - Business Roundtable today named Jim Owens,
Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc., as Chairman of its International
Trade and Investment Task Force.
Owens will lead the Roundtable's initiatives to enhance the
competitiveness of U.S. business in global markets and to
promote worldwide economic growth through an ambitious U.S.
trade agenda.
Business Roundtable is comprised of 160 chief executive officers
of leading U.S. companies with over $4.5 trillion in combined
annual revenues and more than 10 million employees.
"Jim Owens is a strong supporter of a dynamic U.S. trade
agenda," said Harold McGraw III, Chairman of Business Roundtable
and Chairman, President and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
"Under his skilled leadership, the International Trade and
Investment Task Force will continue to advance ambitious U.S.
trade and investment policies aimed at driving economic growth
and improving U.S. competitiveness in the global economy."
"Trade is a key source of our nation's economic strength,"
said Owens. "So much of our ability to compete in the rapidly-changing
worldwide economy depends on our ability to continue our full
engagement in international markets through a strong trade
agenda."
"I look forward to leading the Roundtable's efforts to work
with the Congress and the Administration to enact trade and
investment policies which spur economic growth and ensure
the competitiveness of our companies," added Owens.
This month, Business Roundtable issued a policy blueprint
entitled, Expanding Economic Growth Through Trade and Investment:
A Blueprint for U.S. Leadership in the 21st Century. With
the global economy and business environment moving more rapidly
than trade negotiations, the Roundtable's paper offers a vision
for U.S. trade and investment policy that spurs continued
economic growth and ensures our ability to keep pace with
historic global changes - including the rise of new trading
nations, an economically integrating Asia, an expanding European
Union, and revolutionary changes in technology.
Last week, the Roundtable also delivered to all Members
of Congress and key Administration officials a series of recommendations
on how U.S. policymakers can best address the complex issues
that define the U.S.-China trade relationship.
"It has never been more vital that the U.S. be an engaged
participant in international markets," added Owens. "How we
manage our trading relationship with China and other nations,
and how we build upon these existing relationships by expanding
our trade and investment agenda will determine our continued
ability to lead in the global economy."
Owens joined Caterpillar Inc. in 1972 as a corporate economist.
He was named chief economist of Caterpillar Overseas S.A.
in Geneva, Switzerland in 1975. From 1980 until 1987 he held
managerial positions in Peoria, Illinois in the Accounting
and Product Source Planning Departments. In 1987 he became
managing director of P.T. Natra Raya, Caterpillar's joint
venture in Indonesia. He held that position until 1990, when
he was elected a corporate vice president and named president
of Solar Turbines Incorporated, a Caterpillar subsidiary in
San Diego. In 1993 he came to Peoria as vice president and
chief financial officer with administrative responsibility
for the Corporate Services Division.
In 1995, Owens was named a group president and member of
Caterpillar's Executive Office. Over the next eight years
as a group president, Owens was at various times responsible
for 13 of the company's 25 divisions. In December 2003, the
Caterpillar Board of Directors named Owens vice chairman and
appointed him chairman and chief executive officer effective
February 1, 2004.
Owens, a native of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, graduated
from North Carolina State University in 1973 with a Ph.D.
in economics.
He is a director of the Institute for International Economics
in Washington, DC; a director of FM Global Insurance Company
in Rhode Island; a director of Alcoa Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania;
and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
Owens is a member of the Manufacturing Council in Washington,
DC and the Global Advisory Council to The Conference Board
in New York. He is also a member of the Community Advisory
Board of Saint Francis Medical Center and the Civic Federation
Board in Peoria.
For more than 80 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making
progress possible and driving positive and sustainable change
on every continent. With 2005 sales and revenues of $36.339
billion, Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of
construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas
engines and industrial gas turbines. More information is available
at http://www.CAT.com/.
# # #
Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org)
is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S.
companies with over $4.5 trillion in annual revenues and more
than 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly
a third of the total value of the U.S. stock market and represent
nearly a third of all corporate income taxes paid to the federal
government. Collectively, they returned more than $110 billion
in dividends to shareholders and the economy in 2005.
Roundtable companies give more than $7 billion a year
in combined charitable contributions, representing nearly
60 percent of total corporate giving. They are technology
innovation leaders, with $86 billion in annual research and
development spending - nearly half of the total private R&D
spending in the U.S.
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