Executives on the move: Hena Kausar, Jürgen Maidl, Frank-Peter Arndt, Peter Hörndlein, Kate Betsworth, David Giandinoto, Neil Scott, John Turner, Jaap Bruining, Lucas Vos, Quintin Kendall

Hena Kausar, assistant general manager at Maruti Suzuki India (pictured right), has been awarded the title of Logistics Woman of the Year 2013 by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) as part of its Achievers Award and Talent Hunt programme to recognise supply chain and logistics industry professionals and talented students “who can think out of the box”. The award was set up with Million Minds Management Services.

“The awards are presented to individuals who have displayed excellence in the field of management and logistics, have acted in a socially responsible manner and created a work environment in which their employees can learn and grow,” said the organisers.

Kausar, who was previously senior manager of Logistics at Maruti, received the award at special ceremony held at the Taj Palace, New Delhi on 9th February.

Talking about the award Kausar told Automotive Logistics News that she developed an interest in logistics in college and counted herself lucky to get a break in the field in her first job at Indo Rama Synthetics at a time when it was still unheard of for a woman to be in the role.

“Logistics in India has traditionally been a male dominated area,” she said. “Being a female, I got tremendous support from my seniors Mr Mayank Pareek, Mr R S Kalsi, and Mr R Uppal at Maruti Suzuki India Limited.”

“I couldn't have a have achieved this distinction without the support of my colleagues and channel partners,” she added.

“It feels good that in an industry dominated by men, a woman can also be successful and standout with distinction. Not only will this award act as a big motivation for me, I hope that it will also inspire many other females to opt for logistics as their preferred choice of operations.”

(See this week’s global update for a chance to enter the UK’s everywoman in Transport and Logistics Awards for this year.)

Dr Karl May, who had been head of logistics, design and supply networks, had previously reported to the board member for purchasing. May, who recently moved to a role outside logistics, told Automotive Logistics last year that keeping logistics in the same organisation as purchasing helped ensure that the department had a strong influence on sourcing and service decisions (read more here).

While BMW did not comment further on the reasons or implications of this change, carmakers that position logistics under manufacturing at other carmakers have often said it is to better integrate logistics and supply chain management-related costs into the total ‘value chain’ of production and distribution, rather than viewing them in pure purchasing terms.

The benefits of either approach have been widely debated and tend to vary by carmaker. Logistics at General Motors, for example, reports to the company’s global purchasing department, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, while Ford’s material planning and logistics (MP&L) department reports to the head of manufacturing. Japanese OEMs, meanwhile, have tended split inbound and outbound logistics, with the former reporting to manufacturing and the latter to sales and marketing. 

Below the network steering and logistics group, BMW has also organised several more detailed responsibilities. Included in that will be a new head of Transportation Planning Inbound and Projects, Peter Hörndlein, who takes over as at the beginning of March. He will report to Johann Schuberthan, head of logistics planning.

In a number of recent moves at rail provider Union Pacific Railroad, Kate Betsworth has moved to take up the role of vice president – Intermodal Operations, replacing Barry Michaels, who has left to pursue other interests according to the company.

In her new role Betsworth will direct Union Pacific’s intermodal facilities and network operations. The company has 34 such facilities across a 32,000-mile network.

Betsworth has been with the company for 18 years and was most recently assistant vice president and general manager of the Union Pacific subsidiary that executes the company’s rail-based logistics programmes – Union Pacific Distribution Services (UPDS).

She will be replaced in that role by David Giandinoto, who has also been with the company for 18 years and was most recently general superintendent of Transportation Services at the Chicago Service Unit, leading safety and transport operations across 1,000 miles of track in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Amongst the other moves, Neil Scott moves from his role as general superintendent of Transportation Services at the company’s Utah Service Unit to take up Giandinoto’s previous role. He will be replaced by John Turner, who moves from the Portland Service Unit where he was director of Transportation Services.

Ceva Logistics has appointed Jaap Bruining as its new head of Operations for China. He will be based in Shanghai

Bruining has worked at Ceva for eight years, both in the Netherlands and Thailand. He started as Global LEAN director and successfully managed the rollout of the LEAN programme worldwide. He then moved to his last  position as vice president of Operations for Contract Logistics in Thailand.

Before joining Ceva, Bruining worked for Booz&Company as a strategy development, project management, and organisational change consultant. He also worked for Shell International Chemicals as a production engineer for four years, based in the Netherlands.

 “With Jaap, we get a very robust injection of skills which support Ceva’s operational capabilities,” said Martin Thaysen, Ceva’s executive vice president for China. “Jaap has been involved with the development of a number of Ceva processes and tools, including LEAN, Zero Defect Start-up (ZDS) and other operational systems. With his background in both strategy and operations, he brings a good mix of understanding customers’ overall needs, the market and operational execution.”

Maersk Line’s chief commercial officer Lucas Vos has announced he will leave the company at the beginning of May, including from his positions as head of the commercial part the business and member of the Liner Management Board.

“Lucas Vos has been part of the top management team in Maersk Line for the past five years,” said Maersk Line CEO Søren Skou. “He has been an integral part of turning the company around with the ambitious streamLINE programme and lately contributed to the plan of making Maersk Line the most profitable player in the industry. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Lucas for his efforts and the good collaboration. We are sad to see him go and wish him best of luck.”

Maersk Line is in the process of appointing a successor.

North American rail provider CSX has announced the appointment of Quintin Kendall as vice president, State Government and Community Affairs. He succeeds Michael O’Malley, who has moved to a new position as head of the company’s Purchasing and Materials group.

Kendall serves as regional vice president for state government affairs for the Mid-Atlantic region and  has been working on support for infrastructure investment projects such as the National Gateway, a major public-private partnership creating a double-stack intermodal freight rail corridor linking Mid-Atlantic ports and Midwest distribution centres.

In addition, Kendall successfully coordinated company-wide efforts to broaden recognition of the benefits of freight rail and led CSX efforts to support growth at the Port of Virginia.

“Quintin has built credibility among policymakers as a trusted partner and effective advocate for balanced solutions,” said Ellen Fitzsimmons, CSX executive vice president of law and public affairs. “He brings extensive community relations, policy, political and management experience to his new role.”

Prior to joining CSX, Kendall served as chief of staff to Mary Peters, secretary of the US Department of Transportation (USDOT). While at USDOT from 2002 to 2009 he focused on reforming federal highway and transit policy and enhancing transportation safety.