Schaefer, who died on Wednesday morning, joined Cat in 1951, the same year as he graduated from Saint Louis University with a bachelor of science degree.

His last position was as the OEM’s chairman and chief executive officer, a seat he held from 1985 until his 1990 retirement.

Schaefer’s first role with the company was as a trainee in the accounting department. During his 39-year tenure he held a series of accounting and auditing positions before being named chief accountant in 1960.

In 1968, he was named a corporate accounting division manager, and in 1973 became general manager of Caterpillar’s manufacturing facility in Decatur, Illinois.

In 1976, Schaefer was elected a vice-president and given administrative oversight of the company’s financial and data processing groups.

He was elected an executive vice-president in 1981, a director in 1983 and vice-chairman in 1984 before finally becoming chairman and CEO the following year.

“George Schaefer will be remembered as one of the great leaders in Caterpillar’s history,” Caterpillar chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman said.

“He pushed the company to move away from a centralized model to its current business unit structure during the late 1980s, a significant and difficult decision that positioned Caterpillar for the remarkable growth and success that has followed.”

Oberhelman said the late executive led the company through an investment of more than $1 billion in the mid-1980s to its Plant with a Future Program.

He also was responsible for the OEM’s decision in 1986 to change names from Caterpillar Tractor to Caterpillar Incorporate.

“[He retained] our heritage, but also recognized that we had become much more than just a tractor company,” Oberhelman said.

No information on funeral plans were released.