TNT Express has appointed ex-DHL executive Martin Sodergard as Group Director Global Networksfrom November onwards as part of the reorganisation of its senior functional management under its
new Deliver! strategy.Sodergard brings along extensive experience in international management in the aviation andlogistics industries. He previously worked for Swissport Cargo Services in various senioroperational positions, most recently as Senior Vice President of Swissport Global Cargo. Sodergardbegan his career at DHL in 1986 and worked in many key network-related positions, includingDirector Hubs & Gateways Europe and Managing Director DHL Network Operations Europe.
“Martin has a strong track record of leading high performing multinational management teams andimplementing strategic change,” Tex Gunning, CEO TNT Express, said. “He has successfully led keyprojects in his previous positions and his expertise in operations and driving growth will be avaluable asset.”
The appointment is part of TNT’s changed management structure including an enlarged globalFunctional Board with cross-company responsibilities. This Functional Board now comprises Networks,Marketing & Strategy, Sales & Customer Service, Operations & Engineering, ICS &Shared Services, HR, and Finance.
The previous regional management covering Northern Europe, Southern Europe & MEA and AsiaPacific has been scrapped. Instead, the nine business units (Australia/New Zealand, Benelux,Emerging, Europe/Americas, France, Germany, Italy, Other Networks and UK/Ireland) report directlyto the CEO. The Emerging unit covers Africa, the Middle East and Asia, while the Europe/Americasunit covers smaller European markets, North and South America.
Announced on 25 March this year, the Deliver! strategy is designed to reduce TNT’s operatingcosts by €220 million by 2015 and improve profit margins in Europe to about 8%. TNT put therestructuring costs at €150 million, mostly for redundancy payments, and announced one-off spendingof €200 million in infrastructure and IT modernisation. The company also plans to cut some 4,000jobs, sell off its loss-making China and Brazil domestic businesses and re-focus on core strengthsand Europe over the next three years.
