R. Preston Feight — Board Member Accountability Profile
Category: Private Citizen — Corporate Director Role: Independent Director, Deere & Company Board Tenure: 2024 – present Committee Memberships: Audit Review Committee; Corporate Governance Committee Profile Type: Board Member Accountability — Anchor B (Documented Organizational Leadership)
Basis for Inclusion: R. Preston Feight holds a documented governance role at Deere & Company (John Deere). Deere & Company (John Deere) is a major agricultural and construction equipment manufacturer that made documented political donations to Trump-aligned entities. Deere is significantly affected by federal agricultural policy, trade agreements, and farm income support programs. This profile documents the factual governance relationship, not the subject’s personal political views.
Subject Classification: Private Citizen / Corporate Director. Board membership is a matter of public record (SEC filings, proxy statements). This profile documents only the governance role and its connection to documented corporate political activity.
What is NOT the basis for inclusion: R. Preston Feight’s personal political opinions, party affiliation, public statements, or any protected speech are NOT the basis for inclusion.
Biographical Overview
R. Preston Feight has served as Chief Executive Officer of PACCAR Inc. since 2019, leading one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt, and DAF brands. PACCAR is also a major manufacturer of diesel and natural gas engines and provides financial services to trucking customers. Feight has more than 30 years of experience in the commercial-truck manufacturing industry. He joined the Deere & Company Board of Directors in 2024 as one of its more recently added independent directors, bringing a peer-company perspective from another major industrial equipment manufacturer. He serves on the Audit Review Committee and the Corporate Governance Committee. Feight’s active CEO role in commercial trucking provides current operational context to Deere’s governance, particularly on issues of manufacturing costs, supply chain, emissions regulations, and electrification of heavy equipment.
Board Role and Governance Authority
- Company: Deere & Company (NYSE: DE)
- Board tenure: 2024 – present
- Committee assignments: Audit Review Committee; Corporate Governance Committee
- Primary employer: PACCAR Inc. — Chief Executive Officer (since 2019)
- Sector expertise: Commercial truck manufacturing, heavy equipment, diesel and alternative-fuel powertrains
Parent Corporate Donor Profile
This profile is a governance-accountability companion to the John Deere corporate donor profile.
Factual correction requests: If you believe information in this profile is incorrect, please contact factcheck@patriot.university with your name (optional), the specific claim, and any supporting documentation. We review all submissions and correct verified errors promptly.
Investigative trail pointers (public records)
Education only — verify independently. Absence of hits is not proof.
| Channel | Starting points |
|---|---|
| Federal courts | CourtListener / PACER party and attorney searches (spelling variants) |
| Campaign finance | FEC + OpenSecrets for committees and donors tied to documented roles |
| Corporate / LLC | State secretary of state; OpenCorporates for cross-border shells from reporting |
| Sanctions / PEP | OpenSanctions when international business context is already sourced |
| Contracts / grants | USAspending.gov for named entities from investigations |
Use public-records-research-specialist, corporate-intelligence-investigator, and public-corruption-ombudsman evidence tiers.
Sources
- Deere & Company DEF 14A Proxy Statement, 2025; SEC EDGAR