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Tag: appointment

Parksons Packaging makes senior appointment

Posted on by David Priestman

Parksons Packaging, a leading folding carton group of companies, headquartered in India, has appointed Malcolm Farnan as Executive Vice President of Global Marketing. Based in the UK, Farnan will be responsible for global sales force operations, strategy, product & category marketing, and innovation & design for Parksons.

Farnan has a wealth of experience in value-added packaging along with a global understanding and customer insight of branded consumer, healthcare & specialty sectors. He was previously working as senior vice president of global sales & marketing at Multi Packaging Solutions (part of the WestRock packaging group). He has also worked in senior sales & marketing roles with Netherlands- based Clondalkin packaging group.

Farnan is a veteran of the packaging business, and has led several initiatives including business development with key end users in consumer and healthcare markets, sales force effectiveness and establishment of multiple CRM platforms, design hubs and innovation resources. He also has significant operating experience in the APAC, North American and European regions.

A Fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing, he holds a degree in Business Management and an MBA in Strategic Marketing. He has also completed his post graduate Diplomas in both Management Systems and International Marketing.

Siddharth Kejriwal, Chief Executive Officer of Parksons Packaging, said: “We are delighted to welcome Malcolm to our senior management team. We have known Malcolm for several years and believe that his knowledge and inputs will drive the growth of the Parksons Packaging business globally. Malcolm’s experience in developing appropriate strategies and resources will be of huge benefit to Parksons and to our customers.”

Goplasticpallets.com makes key senior appointment

Posted on by David Priestman

Goplasticpallets.com, the responsible plastic pallet company, has made a key senior appointment to help facilitate the next chapter of the organisation’s growth. Lee Denyer has joined the company as Finance Director.

In this newly created role, Denyer’s remit will encompass all financial aspects of company strategy, monitoring business performance, optimising existing processes and developing new ones. He arrives at goplasticpallets.com after spending 12 years at aerospace and defence giant L3Harris, where he most recently held the role of Head of Finance. Earlier in his career, Denyer enjoyed spells at food manufacturer Kate’s Cakes, as well as Parker Hannifin, a global leader in motion and control technologies.

Denyer completes a strong senior leadership team – spearheaded by Managing Director Jim Hardisty – who will focus on overseeing goplasticpallets.com’s future development plans, which includes adding to its existing portfolio of innovative and sustainable products. The company already supports a number of household names across multiple sectors – including retail, food and agriculture, automotive and pharmaceuticals – whilst also working closely with supply chain and automation professionals to increase efficiencies.

Commenting on the appointment, Hardisty said: “We are thrilled to add someone of Lee’s calibre and experience to our senior management team. After a period of sustained growth, we have a number of exciting plans in place that will push the business forward even further. Lee will play a fundamental role in helping us to achieve our goals as we embark on the next chapter of goplasticpallets.com’s journey.”

Denyer said: “This is a fantastic time to be joining the talented team at goplasticpallets.com. I will be responsible for ensuring the company is in the best position possible to take advantage of new opportunities and that our internal processes and systems match our ambitious growth plans. I cannot wait to get started and make a positive impact across the business.”

 

Conker makes five new appointments

Posted on by David Priestman

Conker, which provides rugged, wearable and scannable devices for mobile workforces, is expanding yet again with the appointment of five new staff members and a head of team promotion.

Lwazi Sibiya joins Conker in the role of business development executive. With a strong consultative approach and a firm belief in the importance of customer-centricity in service-driven sectors, Sibiya comments: “I am delighted to join Conker with its reputation for outstanding customer service.”

Keshny Naidu has over 20 years’ experience in client relationship management and has been appointed business development executive for the retail and wholesale sectors. She comments: “Joining Conker is a great opportunity to add value to this forward-thinking device specialist. I am looking forward to a new challenge and working closely with retail and wholesale businesses to understand the demands of their environment.”

Dannida Katzen will also be coming on board as business development executive. Outlining her approach to the role, Katzen says: “I am dedicated to bringing successful and practical methods and solutions to my work with new customers. I love working for this cutting-edge company as its core values are extremely client-centric.”

Joining the team as an account manager, Marie-Lousie Du Toit explains what she is looking forward to in her new role: “I believe that attention to detail is a key component of being a trusted adviser and I am excited to bring my relationship-building skills to Conker.”

Jacqueline Mostert, new key accounts manager, has over 10 years’ experience in the client consultative space and comments: “I am driven by a passion for people, building trustful relationships and making a difference to my customers’ tech experience.”

In addition to the new hires, Taryn Ward has been promoted to Head of Business Development. She comments: “I am excited to be part of Conker’s growth journey. Working with a team that is passionate about finding solutions that help our customers maximise their business efficiencies and productivity is extremely rewarding.”

2023 is set to be another busy year for Conker and the expanding team will be crucial to support Conker’s continued growth. Conker CEO James Summers adds: “We are delighted to celebrate Taryn’s promotion and welcome Lwazi, Keshny, Dannida, Jacqueline and Marie-Louise to Conker. It’s great to meet new team members who are fully engaged with our mission to help companies match with the perfect tech for the job at hand and who will help in our continued growth.”

Oakland appoints operations director

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Total supply chain solutions provider Oakland International has announced the appointment of Jas Sittre as Operations Director. Previously General Manager for transport and warehouse operations at DHL, Sittre has a wealth of operational experience having held a number of senior roles within the logistics sector.

Oakland International Chief Operating Officer Lee Whiting said: “I am delighted to welcome Jas as Operations Director. His sector knowledge and experience will be put to good use supporting our strategic long-term growth plans and I very much look forward to working with him.”

As a leading D2C/B2C/B2B specialist in contract packing, storage, picking, food distribution, Oakland International has taken the first step to becoming B Corp certified, a fast-growing movement using business as a force for good, with the company also working to becoming the first business within their sector to achieve net-zero. BRCGS AA accredited, and a double Queen’s Award for Enterprise recipient for International Trade and Sustainable Development, Oakland is a brand development support provider for ambient, chilled, and frozen food to the retail, convenience, discount, wholesale and food service markets in the UK, Ireland and via their partner in Spain.

Commenting on his appointment, Sittre said: “I am really pleased to join Oakland International, a well-established business who are driving their innovative agenda and providing their clients with sustainability solutions.

“I have always worked within operations, and I am very much looking forward to meeting and working with a great team of people. I am also looking forward to working with Lee Whiting along with the board to grow the business even further over the coming years.”

 

InstaFreight appoints ex-DHL CFO

Posted on by Keith McKinley

LogTech company InstaFreight has strengthened its management level by appointing Martin Leopold in the newly created position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Coming from industry giant DHL Freight, the 54-year-old with a mathematics degree will make sure together with the founders that scale-up InstaFreight, one of the leading digital logistics companies for overland transport in Europe, continues its dynamic growth seen in recent years.

Martin Leopold has gained substantial experience in logistics during his career – especially in the areas of finance, sales, and IT. From 2014 to 2017, he was Chief Financial Officer at Deutsche Post DHL Group. Followed by work as Chief Sales Officer at the logistics powerhouse in Bonn.

Leopold explains the motives for the change: “My decision to join InstaFreight is associated with my desire to work at a dynamically growing scale-up. Within this task the goals will be securing well-established corporate structures and creating innovative new ones. InstaFreight started with the ambition of accelerating digitalisation in European road freight transport and building a leading digital logistics provider in Europe.

“I strongly believe in InstaFreight’s vision and am very much looking forward to being part of this exciting journey. I am firmly convinced that we can develop more potential within our business model and will set out for profitability.”

“With Martin Leopold joining us, we succeed in taking another major step in our development,” says Philipp Ortwein, Managing Director and Co-Founder of InstaFreight, looking at the prospects for the company. “With his know-how and leadership skills, we at InstaFreight are striving to continue and expand the course that has made us one of the fastest-growing road freight logistics service providers in Europe.”

“InstaFreight has grown remarkably fast in recent years,” says Dirk Reich, Chairman of InstaFreight. “To maintain this momentum, we are strengthening our ranks with a manager this autumn who is highly respected in the industry. Martin Leopold will help to continue our success story together with the current management team, bringing own impulses along the way.”

 

DB Schenker appoints two new Board Members

Posted on by Keith McKinley

DB Schenker is preparing its leadership team for the future, with two international top managers set to join the Management Board. Hessel Verhage (pictured, right), 50, is originally from the Netherlands and has driven the company’s development as Executive Vice President for Global Strategy and Transformation at Schenker. As of 1st November, he will move to the Management Board, where he will be responsible for the Contract Logistics Board Division in addition to his current role. Jakob Wegge-Larsen (pictured, left), 45 and originally from Denmark and currently CFO and Senior Vice President of Ocean & Logistics at the Danish Maersk Group, was named the new CFO by the Schenker Supervisory Board and will begin his new role on 1st March, 2023.

Oliver Seidl, 59, will remain responsible for the Finance Division at Schenker until 31st December, 2022. Seidl, who holds a degree in finance and has been at Schenker since late 2016, has chosen to leave the company to begin a new phase of life focusing on other responsibilities. He will leave at the beginning of 2023 on the best of terms.

“With this new Management Board team, Schenker is positioning itself to meet global changes in the logistics industry, which have required the business to constantly evolve,” said Dr. Levin Holle, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Schenker AG. “Given the strength that these two renowned international logistics experts will bring to the Management Board, this is very good news for the Schenker team and our customers,” he added.

“This is very good news for our employees and customers,” says Supervisory Board Chair Levin Holle.

According to Jochen Thewes, CEO of Schenker AG: “Our new Management Board members, Hessel Verhage and Jakob Wegge-Larsen, will use their experience and innovative spirit to put their full effort into continuing Schenker’s outstanding development into the future. I am looking forward to the ideas and initiatives that they will be bringing to the table.”

As the new Board Member for Contract Logistics, Verhage will lead an experienced team. In addition, he will continue in his current role as Chief Transformation Officer for the time being.

Verhage joined DB Schenker in August 2019 as Chief Executive Officer for the Americas, where he was responsible for business in 24 countries in North, Central and South America. He was promoted to his current role as head of the global strategy and transformation unit at the beginning of 2022. Verhage has over 26 years of experience in the forwarding and logistics business. Before joining Schenker, he served as Chairman of the Management Board of STG Holdings and was responsible for eight acquisitions for the holding company in the Americas.

With over 20 years of international expertise, including positions in Copenhagen, Rotterdam, Singapore and Hamburg, Wegge-Larsen is also a top manager with a wide range of experience in the industry. After four years at the management consulting firm EY, he spent a total of more than 20 years at three different global shipping and logistics companies as CFO or a member of the financial management. He served as Business CFO at Maersk Line Operations (March 2014 to November 2017) and CFO and Vice President at Hamburg Süd, an acquisition of A.P. Moller-Maersk (December 2017 to February 2020). Since March 2020, he has served as CFO for Maersk Ocean & Logistics, which is the largest business unit at A.P. Moller-Maersk and generated revenues of €49bn in 2021.

Wegge-Larsen’s successes have included integrating the acquisition Hamburg Süd into the Maersk Group and strengthening and standardising finance processes, which included introducing new digital systems. Wegge-Larsen holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Henley Business School in United Kingdom.

According to Seidl, who will continue as CFO at Schenker through the end of December: “After the sixth record-setting year in a row in Schenker’s 150-year history and following the successful strategic reorganisation of the Finance Division and the company as a whole, the time has come to hand the reins to someone new. I plan to turn my attention to working with young businesspeople and providing support for their development.”

Dr. Levin Holle, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Schenker AG expressed his thanks to Oliver Seidl: “The Schenker Supervisory Board would like to thank Oliver Seidl for his very successful work and tremendous dedication. He has used his incredible expertise in the past six years to realign the strategy and organisation of the Finance Division and establish a global management control concept for the entire Schenker Group. He is handing over an organisation that has been very well taken care of. We would like to wish Oliver Seidl all the best for the future, both personally and professionally.”

Jochen Thewes, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Schenker AG, also showed his appreciation: “Oliver and I have had a very close and constructive working relationship for the past six years, and I would like to thank him on behalf of the entire Management Board and myself for his outstanding commitment. Together, we transformed Schenker from what was simply a financial holding company into a powerful globally managed company. Schenker AG is now in an excellent position to face the strategic challenges of the market.”

In addition to the core areas of controlling, accounting, and treasury, Seidl has also been directly responsible for purchasing, real estate, financial strategy and the two shared service centres in Manila and Bucharest.

 

 

CakeBoxx makes executive team appointment

Posted on by David Priestman

CakeBoxx Technologies has appointed digital supply chain expert James Blom to its executive team. Building on CakeBoxx Technologies’ record year-over-year growth in 2020 (200%) and 2021 (260%), Blom’s appointment follows the announcements of CakeBoxx’s new COO, James Campbell, and new CTO, Sean Tan.

With this expanded executive team, the company says it is well-positioned for 2023 to accelerate its leadership in specialised supply chain platforms and container solutions for renewable energy, defence, and critical infrastructure projects associated with autonomous transportation and automation.

“We have seen unprecedented demand across multiple industries for our specialised transportation platforms,” said Daine Eisold, Founder and CEO of CakeBoxx Technologies. “With our reputation for integrated systems engineered modular, intermodal transport and storage platforms in the wind energy and defence sectors, we are naturally gravitating toward the exciting autonomous naval, aerospace, and uncrewed vehicle systems industries to develop advanced transportation solutions for their high-value, mission-critical programmes.

“We are now being asked to reimagine container and supply chain transportation holistically. This involves everything from rearchitecting container cargo operations, intermodal facilities, transloading and warehousing, to evolving the performance of global digital supply chain platforms. By integrating advances in supply chain visibility, tracking, and real-time intelligence software for shipping and logistics with physical, unmanned, automated, robotic, and hybrid autonomous transportation systems, we can make tremendous strides in the overall utility and value of complete global supply chain assets.

“Jim Blom is an incredibly talented, multi-dimensional systems thinker and visionary. I have worked with him over the past two decades in maritime cargo security, transportation performance logistics, and supply chain visibility, relying heavily on his guidance and mentoring. After years of incubation, CakeBoxx Technologies has matured to a stage of development where Jim’s abilities can be fully incorporated and will have a profound effect on our growth.

“It was an easy decision for the Board and I to ask Jim to join our team to scale our business model and growth strategy. By adding Jim as our CRO, we will accelerate our FY22 -FY25 revenues with new shipping solutions and third-party logistics platform offerings that provide unprecedented advances in performance, automation, and artificial intelligence.”

CakeBoxx Technologies has evolved its intrinsically simple, incredibly effective two-piece shipping container design for over more than a decade, providing safe transport for numerous specialised assets of strategic importance. This includes an increasingly complex array of both out-of-gauge and in-gauge cargos, superloads such as wind turbines and gearboxes, jet engines, uncrewed systems, and sensitive communications and sensor systems. CakeBoxx solutions offer the industry’s strongest and lightest weight customised shipping decks and platforms, with or without CakeBoxx’s protective lid.

“CakeBoxx Technologies has built a strong base of government and Fortune 500 customers by developing innovative solutions to overcome some of the world’s most challenging shipping issues while also meeting the highest standards of performance, security, and sustainability,” said CakeBoxx Technologies Board member, Michael Quinn. “Jim Blom is a seasoned operations leader, and subject matter expert in the shipping, transportation, and logistics industries – his addition to the executive leadership team is a very strategic move for the company.

“His technology expertise and supply chain experience applying cloud computing, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and edge computing to address global supply chain disruption, port congestion, and last-mile logistics delivery will enable CakeBoxx Technologies to scale its revenue operations and expand the company’s growth into new marketplaces and ecosystems.”

As CRO, Blom will lead revenue operations focused on CakeBoxx’s product development, sales, and field operations, overseeing CakeBoxx’s GTM, technology partnerships, and strategic alliances.

Blom’s mandate will include growing market share in environmental sustainability, focusing on the renewable energy and regenerative food systems industries. Blom will also take on CakeBoxx’s pioneering work for Boeing and Lockheed Martin, evolving its defence and aerospace portfolio and revenues in C4ISR and the uncrewed and autonomous transportation industries.

Blom commented: “Re-imagining the modern shipping container and re-architecting intermodal and last-mile delivery supply chains helps industries accelerate attainment of their global climate and Net Zero sustainability targets. Thanks to our distinguished reputation as a tier-one systems engineering firm, we have an unprecedented opportunity to provide value. Addressing sustainability and carbon reduction initiatives has never been more important. CakeBoxx Technologies’ ability to combine adaptive automation, intelligent, connected, and high-performance systems design with SAFETY Act level security is a defining capability for shippers and 3PLs with sustainability goals.”

CakeBoxx products and advanced supply chain systems engineering services are available to companies, governments, NGOs, and other organisations worldwide seeking to transform their transportation efficiency, lower total cost of ownership, build resilience, and improve safety, security, and sustainability in their supply chain operations.

 

Abbey CEO moves to Executive Chairman

Posted on by David Priestman

Steve Granite, the long-serving CEO of Abbey Logistics Group – the UK’s largest food tanker business – has moved from his role as CEO to take up a new position as Executive Chairman.

Granite joined the business as a 15-year-old apprentice in 1995 and held various positions including Finance Director, before being named successor to majority shareholder Stephen Lucy in 2009 as Managing Director. During that period, Granite grew revenues from £18m in 2009 to close to £70m in year ending June 2022.

In 2016 he led a management buy-out from the Lucy family, backed by NorthEdge Capital, and has steered the company to record revenues and profits in recent years. Since 2020, Steve has reduced his time in Abbey to enable him to focus on another investment he holds outside of the logistics sector. This led to the appointment of the existing Group Managing Director, David Patten as a successor for Granite.

As part of the changes, existing Non-Executive Chairman Julian Maturi will move to a Non-Executive Director role and Josette Saville will become a statutory Director in her existing role as Sales Director.

Granite said: “Now that we have a robust, experienced, and well-balanced management team in place, I’m able to move into this new role as Executive Chairman. Moving forward I will spend more of my time nurturing the leadership team, being an ambassador for the company, especially in attracting more young people into the sector and supporting the overall strategic planning and execution of the business.

Dave and his team have shown over the past two years that they can lead the day-to-day running of the business successfully and this is seen in consistent financial and customer service results. I am proud of what we have achieved at Abbey since taking over as Managing Director in 2009 then CEO in 2016 and very much look forward to this next chapter in my new role, supporting the board and the wider management team.

For the past few years, the business has been back to profitability and is healthy and ready for further growth towards £100m sales.”

UgoWork makes senior appointment

Posted on by David Priestman

UgoWork, a Canadian energy solutions provider specialising in lithium-ion batteries and Energy as a Service (EaaS) solutions in the material handling industry, has appointed industry veteran Tim Ballard as its Director of Sales.

Ballard has over two decades of proven experience in material handling. After studying at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, he worked in several management positions at ProLift Industrial Equipment, an official full-service and material handling dealership for Toyota.

Apart from an in-depth and pragmatic understanding of industry needs and trends, Ballard’s strengths reside in his track record of working in all aspects of material handling, including operations, sales, training and support.

“We are thrilled to welcome Tim to the team,” explained Philippe Beauchamp, UgoWork’s CEO. “When I first met Tim through different projects, I already knew about his incredible reputation in the industry. We have an amazing response from the market and Tim comes at the right time. His approach and personality are a perfect fit in our team, and his contribution to our phenomenal expansion is extremely exciting. His background and rigor will definitely help our entire team achieve the very ambitious expansion goals we have set for the company.”

UgoWork says Ballard shares Beauchamp’s eagerness to pave the way for the company’s innovative approach to energy management for material handling teams. “I was very impressed with UgoWork’s vision and the performance of both its lithium-ion batteries and Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) model,” he said. “No other manufacturer offers these types of solutions on the market – a solution that truly addresses today’s material handling challenges.”

“What started off as a customer-vendor relationship evolved into something much more. Right away, I saw the advantages of UgoWork’s products and what they could do. The customer value speaks for itself,” Ballard added.

His plans for UgoWork in the upcoming months? “I want the business to have the very best sales team in the industry so that we can educate and serve material handling teams across North America about the benefits of lithium-ion batteries and EaaS as compared to other legacy technologies. UgoWork’s future looks very bright indeed.”

The UgoWork team will be at the Southern Automotive Conference from October 5 to 7 in Atlanta, GA. UgoWork will have booths in the Canadian pavilion (#404) and the EV Street display area.

 

Transporeon appoints Chief Network and Strategy Officer

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Transporeon, a leading Transportation Management Platform, has appointed David Landau as Chief Network and Strategy Officer. Landau, described as a savvy supply chain expert, shares Transporeon’s mission to bring transportation in sync with the world and envisions the role of an intelligent platform acting as the operating system of large transportation networks in the cloud.

Landau will be instrumental in accelerating the growth of Transporeon’s powerful global freight network of 1,400+ shippers and 145,000+ carriers, creating a vibrant ecosystem and helping shippers, load recipients, service providers, freight forwarders and carriers connect, communicate, collaborate and share data to realise operational benefits, new business opportunities, unlock data value and reduce carbon emissions.

“I am thrilled to welcome David to our Transporeon family,” comments Stephan Sieber, CEO of Transporeon. “With his great experience David is a perfect addition to the Transporeon team. I am delighted that he decided to join us and will work with our team to further drive our mission of bringing transportation in sync with the world.”

Landau joins Transporeon with extensive experience at companies such as Manhattan Associates, Cloud Logistics and, most recently, serving as Chief Product Officer at BluJay Solutions.

Landau adds: “I’ve always admired the team, mission and success of Transporeon. Transportation is, after all, an ecosystem. Transporeon has developed one of the largest logistics networks in the world, which gives it unparalleled connectivity, data and capabilities. To be part of the team that will lead the continued growth of the ecosystem to the benefit of shippers, logistics service providers and the environment is a true honour.”

David Landau replaces Thomas Einsiedler, who is moving on to explore new endeavours after 10 years of dedicated leadership at Transporeon. Landau and Einsiedler will ensure a smooth handover in the coming months. For the first quarter of 2023, Einsiedler will drive selected strategic projects for Transporeon.

“Thomas’s achievements for our product and network organisation deserve my fullest appreciation and great thanks. Up until his departure he will remain an important contributor to our success, and I am looking forward to continuing my work with him”, adds Sieber.

 

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