FedEx and UPS have announced new executive appointments for freight forwarding and in Asia inSeptember and early October.
FedEx Trade Networks, the group’s expanding international ocean and air freight forwardingbusiness, has appointed Fred Schardt as president & chief executive officer (CEO) as of Octoberin place of Ed Clark who retired at the end of September. In his new position, he is responsiblefor the leadership and strategic direction of FedEx Trade Networks, as well as the company’s globaloperations and product portfolio.
Schardt has spent more than 35 years in the international freight forwarding, transportationand logistics industries. He joined FedEx Trade Networks in 2008 as executive vice president &chief operating officer. During his time with the company, he realigned operations and standardisedservice offerings to optimize the FedEx Trade Networks international freight-forwarding portfolio.He is also leading an aggressive global expansion plan, which includes an increasedfreight-forwarding presence and office openings in Asia, Latin America, Europe, Africa and theMiddle East.
“I look forward to continuing our progress in expanding the FedEx Trade Networks globalfootprint and enhancing our services to provide customers with unmatched end-to-end internationalfreight forwarding solutions,” Schardt commented.
Meanwhile, FedEx Express has named Kenneth Koval as Vice President Operations for India withresponsibility for expanding the company’s business in the country. He was previously managingdirector/regional controller of EMEA, a position he held for three years in Belgium. Koval hasserved FedEx in various management roles over the past 20 years and has been instrumental insteering several key strategies leading to the company’s overall growth.
Separately, UPS has appointed Christopher Grubb as Vice President of its Asia Pacific region.Based in Singapore, he will oversee all marketing, retail, and advertising and public relationsactivities in the region. Chris Grubb, who has been with UPS since 1989, takes over from JosephGuerrisi who served in the same position for five years and has recently taken a new role at UPS’sheadquarters in Atlanta.
Prior to his current assignment, Chris was the Europe Region Customer Relationship Management(CRM) and Planning Director based in Brussels, Belgium. In this role he was responsible forcustomer communication, CRM programs and systems development for more than 100 countries throughoutEurope, Middle East and Africa.
Derek Woodward, President, UPS Asia Pacific said: “Chris’ solid experience in customerrelations, and communications and marketing, will greatly benefit the team here. We have everyconfidence he will be an effective asset as we continue to strengthen UPS’s position as the leadingsupply chain and freight services provider in Asia.”
