UPS announced its chief operating officer Jim Barber will retire at the end of the year.
Barber, 59, was named COO last year. He had previously been president of international for UPS since 2013. Barber started at the company as a delivery driver in 1985 and worked his way up.
Barber is the third C-level executive retirement UPS has announced in the past five months.
In June, UPS announced the retirement of Teri McClure, chief human resources officer and senior vice president of labor relations. Charlene Thomas was named the new chief human resources officer.
In August, the company announced the retirement of chief financial officer Richard Peretz. Brian Newman was named as CFO effective Sept. 16, joining UPS from PepsiCo. Peretz will stay with UPS through December to help with the transition.
David Abney has led UPS as CEO since 2014, and has also been chairman since 2016. He was previously COO of UPS.
UPS has long had a promote-from-within culture, with Abney and Barber as examples of executives who started out as drivers or package-loaders and advanced through the years to the C-suite.
Abney said the company has a “blend” in its management time including longtime UPSers like Barber and Peretz, “and then we have also brought in some very good people from the outside. I see that continuing.”
“We have a strong bench and succession planning is something that we constantly focus on,” Abney said.
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