UPS has named Jim Barber as president of UPS International, replacing Dan Brutto, who is retiring after 38 years with the package delivery company.
Barber, who started out as a Georgia delivery driver, is currently president of UPS Europe and responsible for 120 countries and territories in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
UPS spokeswoman Peggy Gardner said the company has managed key acquisitions under Brutto and Barber, and she said UPS’ healthcare package delivery solutions for customers outside the U.S. have expanded under Brutto. Gardner said average daily volume for packages handled by UPS also has grown under Brutto’s leadership.
His retirement comes several weeks after UPS' $6.77 billion effort to acquire European rival TNT Express was blocked by the European Commission.
UPS saw the acquisition as an opportunity to expand business-to-business supply chain operations in Europe more quickly, especially in healthcare and in Eastern Europe, Brutto told analysts in January, according to a Post & Parcel report on his comments.
“For the most part, we can provide the service,” Brutto told analysts, according to the Post & Parcel report. “I think TNT would have helped us get there faster, but there are still all kinds of opportunities for us – right now just in healthcare in Europe, we’re working to help UPS customers get their supply chain moving end-to-end.”
The European Commission blocked the acquisition of TNT Express over concerns that competition would be diminished because the number of small-package delivery providers would be reduced to only two or three in 15 countries, likely causing prices to rise.
In a statement, UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis called 56-year-old Brutto “the epitome of a global leader who understands what it takes to be successful on the world stage.”
Davis also said it is an “exciting time” for UPS globally. “We remain bullish on Europe for the long-term and we are near completion of the three-year expansion of our main European air hub in Cologne [Germany]. In addition, we are well positioned in Asia and other regions of the world.”
Davis also said UPS has a strong growth strategy and “we will continue to look for growth opportunities either organic or through acquisition.”
Barber, who joined UPS in 1985, has been president of UPS Europe since 2011. The 52-year-old executive is a former chief operating officer of UPS Europe and former president of UPS’ United Kingdom and Ireland district.
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