San Diego-based Caterpillar dealer Hawthorne Cat has promoted David Ness to vice president of sales and marketing for all the Hawthorne Cat divisions. Ness will be based in the corporate office in Rancho Bernardo, Calif., and have management responsibility for general sales, rental, marketing and power systems sales managers.
Ness is a 10-year Hawthorne veteran who began his career with the company helping Hawthorne to implement 6 Sigma throughout the organization. He went on to the Hawthorne Power Systems division, which reached record profitability under his leadership. He then led the implementation of Hawthorne’s corporate strategy plan beginning in 2008.
Hawthorne Power Systems has named Kirk Fowkes general manager to replace Ness. Fowkes will have overall management responsibility for the power divisions in San Diego, Hawaii and the Pacific region.
Hawthorne Cat was one of the first Caterpillar dealers to have a successful rental program and is No. 57 on the RER 100.
