Caterpillar has long been synonymous with the machines that build, mine and power the world. With $64.8 billion in revenue in 2024, the company operates in infrastructure, energy and resource development, helping customers tackle some of the most consequential challenges of our time. From mining critical minerals to rebuilding aging infrastructure to providing power for hospitals, villages and data centers, Caterpillar’s work quite literally shapes modern life.
Few leaders are as closely tied to that mission as Jaime Mineart, the company’s chief technology officer and senior vice president. Mineart joined Caterpillar as an intern at 18 and has spent her entire career with the company, assuming the CTO role in January 2025. Today, she is responsible for driving the development and integration of advanced technologies across Caterpillar’s global product portfolio, with a particular focus on autonomy, automation, productivity and safety. “If you think about the customer problems that we solve,” Mineart said, “we create the world around us.”
A Career Grown From the Ground Up
Mineart’s connection to Caterpillar is deeply personal. As a freshman mechanical engineering student at Purdue, she entered her first internship uncertain whether engineering was the right path. “Caterpillar saved my engineering degree,” she emphasized. Working on large engines and power systems alongside experienced engineers and shop floor teams gave her a sense of purpose and possibility that reshaped her career trajectory.
That early exposure set the tone for the decades that followed. Mineart began in design engineering, then moved into customer and dealer facing roles, including time in Calgary as a sales representative in Caterpillar’s electric power business. It was there that she says the work truly came alive. “That’s where I really became connected to what we do,” she underscored. “You see firsthand how we help customers be successful and how that work builds the world.”
Over more than 25 years, she has held a wide range of roles across power, energy and emerging technologies, rarely staying in one position for more than a few years. The diversity of experiences, coupled with Caterpillar’s culture and people, kept her engaged. “I feel very grateful to have grown up here professionally,” Mineart explained. “I’ve learned from so many brilliant minds.”
Technology at the Core of Customer Value
As CTO, Mineart’s remit spans both physical and digital technologies. Her team is responsible for machine level safety and productivity features, site level autonomy and automation, and enterprise technologies that support manufacturing, engineering and R&D. That includes work on alternative fuels, electrification and advanced power systems. “It’s a really exciting role,” she noted, “and it’s at the heart of helping our customers be successful.”
She works closely with Caterpillar’s chief digital officer, Ogi Redzic, and chief information officer, Jamie Engstrom, in what she described as a highly complementary partnership. Mineart focuses on the physical technologies that create value in machines, engines and manufacturing. Redzic leads digital and marketing capabilities that connect those machines to customers. Engstrom provides the IT architecture, systems and data governance that form the foundation for both. “The three of us work well together,” Mineart said. “It’s a fun opportunity to have such complementary roles.”
That collaboration is especially critical as Caterpillar accelerates its use of artificial intelligence and automation. Mineart emphasized that while the company has made significant progress, it never feels fast enough. “There’s so much opportunity,” she emphasized. Empowerment and access to the right tools have been central to that acceleration, giving employees the freedom to experiment, learn and scale what works. “Success breeds success,” she added.
From Autonomy to Change Management
Caterpillar’s leadership in machine autonomy is not new. Mineart noted that the company deployed its first autonomous mining trucks more than 30 years ago. What has evolved is the understanding that technology alone is not enough. “It’s not just about the technology,” she highlighted. “It’s about how you incorporate that technology into the worksite, the workflow and the customer’s operations.”
Those lessons have shaped how Caterpillar approaches change management today, both internally and with customers. Whether introducing new AI tools or deploying autonomous systems in mines and construction sites, the focus is on aligning people, processes and technology to deliver real outcomes. “Technology for technology’s sake doesn’t work,” Mineart said. “It’s about helping customers get the value.”
That customer centric lens also guides how Caterpillar identifies and scales innovation. Rather than developing solutions in isolation, Mineart’s teams partner directly with customers to test technologies in real environments. Labor shortages, safety risks and productivity pressures are daily realities for Caterpillar’s customers, creating strong motivation to innovate together. “We lean in with them, learn with them and create technologies that can truly transform their industries,” she said.
Investing in the Workforce of the Future
Those transformations extend beyond products to people. Caterpillar recently pledged $100 million over five years to upskill employees in emerging technologies, a commitment Mineart helped shape. She sees the initiative as a response to profound workforce shifts driven by labor shortages and AI. “There’s a shortage of the right skills for the future,” she noted. “We have to invest in creating those skills.”
The pledge supports both Caterpillar’s internal workforce and the broader ecosystems it serves. An early example includes a $5 million commitment to training and upskilling in Indiana, a key growth area for the company. Mineart is particularly proud of the opportunity to invest in people. “It’s about building the products and services our customers need and helping create the labor force of the future,” she said.
Data, Digital Twins and What Comes Next
Looking ahead, Mineart sees enormous potential at the intersection of robotics, AI, digital twins and advanced compute. In areas such as mining autonomy, the approach today looks radically different than it did even a few years ago. Physics based models, inference engines and real-time data now enable predictive maintenance, optimization and rapid adaptation to changing site conditions. “Things we couldn’t do 24 months ago are now possible,” she said.
Data is the foundation that makes it all work. Mineart credited Caterpillar’s Helios data platform, years of autonomy data and deep partnerships with companies like NVIDIA for enabling these advances. “We’ve spent a lot of focus on making data usable and responsible,” she said. The goal is to process and analyze vast amounts of information and deliver insights that directly improve customer outcomes.
For Mineart, the timing could not be better. “We’re at this incredible intersection,” she said, where decades of experience meet unprecedented technological capability. It is a moment that plays to Caterpillar’s strengths and to her own journey. After a career spent solving real world problems alongside customers, she now has the opportunity to help define how technology will continue to build the world.
Peter High is President of Metis Strategy, a business and IT advisory firm. He has written three bestselling books, including his latest Getting to Nimble. He also moderates the Technovation podcast series and speaks at conferences around the world. Follow him on X @PeterAHigh.
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