Caterpillar Inc. announced that the company's Board of Directors has elected Denise Johnson, currently vice president with responsibility for the Material Handling & Underground Division, as group president of Resources Industries. The appointment follows the recently announced retirement of Group President Ed Rapp. Johnson joined Caterpillar in 2011 as the general manager of Caterpillar's Specialty Products business unit where she had responsibility for nearly 20 facilities around the world.

She came to Caterpillar after a 22-year career with General Motors, where she built deep expertise in operations and product management in a series of positions in the United States, Canada and Brazil. A year later, she was elected vice president of the Diversified Products Division with responsibility for industries including forestry, paving and on-highway trucks. In 2013, she became vice president of the Integrated Manufacturing Operations Division overseeing major operations in Caterpillar's larger division at the time.

She was named to her current role in 2014. Her move is effective April 1, 2016. Johnson's successor will be named at a later date.