PACCAR Inc
Leadership History
4 leaders · 1967 to present
R. Preston Feight is the CEO of PACCAR, in the role since 2019. The first chief executive was Charles M. Pigott, from 1967.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R. Preston Feight | Chief Executive Officer | 2019 | Present | 7 |
| Ron Armstrong | Chief Executive Officer | 2014 | 2019 | 5 |
| Mark Pigott | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 1997 | 2014 | 17 |
| Charles M. Pigott | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 1967 | 1996 | 29 |
PACCAR is one of the world's largest makers of heavy-duty trucks. Its Kenworth and Peterbilt brands together hold close to 30% of U.S. and Canada Class 8 retail sales, according to company testimony, and DAF is a leading brand in Europe. It sells through independent dealers and backs those sales with its own engines, a global parts business and a captive finance company. The company is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. PACCAR was founded in 1905 in Seattle, Washington, by William Pigott as Seattle Car Mfg. Co. (later Pacific Car and Foundry Company), evolving over twelve decades into a global commercial transportation titan producing Kenworth, Peterbilt, and DAF premium heavy-duty trucks from Bellevue.
Chief Executive Officer
2019 – Present
7 years (current)
Led PACCAR through the 2023-2024 record years and the 2025 downturn while expanding PACCAR Parts and investing in the Amplify Cell Technologies battery joint venture.
Feight joined PACCAR in 1998 and was president of DAF Trucks and general manager of Kenworth before becoming CEO in July 2019. During his tenure revenue reached a record $35.13 billion in 2023.
Chief Executive Officer
2014 – 2019
5 years
Armstrong heavily drove the massive global expansion of the incredibly lucrative PACCAR Parts division, turning the high-margin aftermarket parts business into the absolute core profit engine of the company.
Serving as CEO from 2014 to 2019, he oversaw a period of absolutely massive profitability and dividend growth, heavily modernizing the Kenworth and Peterbilt truck lineups.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
1997 – 2014
17 years
Pigott executed the highly strategic, massive acquisition of European truck giant DAF in 1996, successfully transforming PACCAR from a purely North American company into a massive global player.
Serving as CEO from 1997 to 2013, he was the absolute driving force behind the company's legendary streak of continuous profitability, ruthlessly managing costs during the 2008 financial crisis.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
1967 – 1996
29 years
Charles Pigott became chief executive in 1967 and gave the company the Paccar name in 1972.
He bought Foden in 1980 and DAF in 1996. His son Mark succeeded him in 1997.
PACCAR's main risks are the truck cycle and freight rates, changes to U.S. EPA and EU emissions rules, slow zero-emission truck adoption, tariffs and supply-chain costs, and leftover EU truck-cartel civil claims. Revenue fell 15.5% in 2025 and headcount dropped from about 30,100 to 25,900. Both show how quickly volumes can move.
R. Preston Feight is the Chief Executive Officer of PACCAR Inc, serving in this role since July 1, 2019. An engineer by training with a mechanical engineering degree from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and an M.S. from the University of Colorado, Feight has spent over 25 years at PACCAR in key leadership roles including President of DAF Trucks and General Manager of Kenworth.
Ron Armstrong served as Chief Executive Officer of PACCAR from April 2014 until his retirement in June 2019. Under Armstrong's tenure, PACCAR expanded its global market share, built new parts distribution facilities, and introduced advanced PACCAR Powertrain engines and connected vehicle platforms.
Mark Pigott, great-grandson of founder William Pigott Sr., was chairman and CEO of PACCAR from January 1997 to April 2014 and remains executive chairman. During his tenure PACCAR expanded overseas, including the 1998 Leyland Trucks acquisition.
Charles Pigott served as CEO of PACCAR from 1967 to 1997. During his three-decade leadership, he oversaw the corporate renaming to PACCAR Inc in 1972, directed the construction of modern manufacturing plants, expanded into Australia and the UK, and laid the foundations for PACCAR Financial and PACCAR Parts.
Preston Feight has accelerated PACCAR's investments in connected vehicle architectures, Level 4 autonomous vehicle chassis integration with Aurora, commercialization of electric truck lineups across Kenworth, Peterbilt, and DAF, and the formation of the $2B+ Amplify Cell Technologies battery manufacturing joint venture.
PACCAR's executive management is recognized for strict cost discipline, conservative balance sheet management, continuous Kaizen manufacturing improvements, promotion of internal engineering talent, and a focus on customer uptime and total cost of ownership.
PACCAR systematically rotates high-potential engineering, financial, and operational leaders across its North American and European divisions (Kenworth, Peterbilt, DAF, PACCAR Parts, and PACCAR Financial), ensuring senior executives possess comprehensive cross-brand and global operating experience.
The Pigott family, which founded the company in 1905, maintains enduring corporate governance stewardship through Mark Pigott serving as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors and John Pigott serving on the Board, preserving long-term strategic continuity and shareholder value creation.
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