Ed Rapp (BSBA)

Ed Rapp retired from Caterpillar Inc. in July 2016. Prior to his retirement, Ed was a Caterpillar Inc. Group President. During his time in the Caterpillar Executive Office he led Resource Industries, Construction Industries and was the company’s CFO.

Rapp has more than 37 years of global experience and has lived and worked in the United States, Africa, Europe and Asia. Rapp’s experiences include finance, marketing, dealer development, manufacturing and product development.

Rapp’s career was cut short when he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease in late 2015. Ed founded Stay Strong vs. ALS which invests in institutions focused on finding a cure and improving assistive technologies for ALS patients. Ed is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of Answer ALS and is on the Board of the Packard Center at Johns Hopkins.
Rapp is also a member of the AbbVie and XOS board of directors, serves on the Strategic Development Board for the University of Missouri Business School. With his son, Rapp is involved in residential and commercial development and started Rapp Ventures, a private equity company focused on early-stage companies across a range of industries. Rapp published “The Flywheel of Life and Leadership” and engages in discussions on the importance of work-life balance and leading through adversity.

Rapp has a BSBA degree in finance from the University of Missouri-Columbia and is a graduate of the University of Illinois Executive Development program. Rapp and his wife, Ann, reside in Cary, North Carolina near their children and grandsons.