Garcia-Perry brings more than 12 years of business management and logistics industry experience to the job, including transport management, logistics and distribution, project and operations management, strategic planning, and process improvements.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have Martha join the MetroGistics team,” said Scott Naz, managing partner, business development. “She has that rare combination of technical knowledge, strong project management capabilities, and customer relation and retention skills. Her strategic location in Denver, Colorado, will give us a much more consistent reach to the Mountain States and our West Coast customers.”
Nigel Fletcher has moved from his joint role as deputy managing director and operations director at vehicle leasing company ALD Automotive to take up a new position as group development director and car remarketing specialist Manheim.
He now takes responsibility for strategic business planning, product and services strategy, digital development and new business acquisitions.
Although primarily UK-focused, Fletcher will also provide strategic support in a number of Manheim's international markets. He will report directly to John Bailey, UK and Europe CEO, who also heads up all of Manheim's operations outside North America.
"We're very pleased to have Nigel on board as part of our senior management team,” said Bailey. “With 35 years' experience in the automotive industry and his particular insight into the requirements of our customers, he will play a pivotal role in enhancing Manheim's already broad proposition and also achieving our high performance level objectives.
Fletcher joins Manheim after 14 years with ALD where he was a Manheim customer. Prior to this, he held senior positions at Swan National Leasing and Crown Vehicle Contracts.
Following the news that Ray LaHood is stepping down as secretary of transportation at the US Department of Transport (DoT) it has been announced that the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, Anthony Foxx, has been nominated as his replacement by president Obama. Foxx must now be confirmed by the Senate before taking his post.
“As mayor of one of the nation's fastest growing cities, Anthony Foxx has been on the front lines delivering transportation services to the public, boosting economic growth, and creating jobs,” said LaHood, adding that the American people cold expect the DoT’s progress to continue unabated during the president’s second term. “Mayor Anthony Foxx is the right man for the job,” said LaHood.
Foxx has a legal background and has worked for the US Department of Justice and the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. He became Charlotte's mayor in 2009 and also took up a position as deputy general counsel at DesignLine Corporation, a hybrid electric bus manufacturer.
According to reports in the German automotive press, James Muir, who has been replaced as head of the Seat division of VW by Jürgen Stackmann this week, is to take up a new role as head of VW’s national sales companies, working alongside VW Group’s sales and marketing chief Christian Klinger. Muir is said to be overseeing the sales, marketing aftersales and fleet businesses of the national sales companies according to the reports, though VW would not confirm this.
Muir became chairman of Seat in September 2009 and has been in charge of restructuring the company. He was previously president and CEO of Mazda Europe and began his automotive career with Ford in 1987.
Stackmann also began his career with Ford in 1989 and held various posts in Germany and the UK, including general manager Sales and Marketing for the carmaker’s German plants. He joined the Volkswagen Group in 2010.
Ian Veitch, managing director of Yusen Logistics UK, has taken over as president of the Freight Transport Association, replacing Stewart Oades.
"Stewart leaves behind him an outstanding legacy within FTA for which I am deeply indebted to him,” said Veitch. “I am looking forward to working with my Board colleagues and the Executive team in pursuing the best interests of our members and promoting our industry as a vital part of our society and our economy," he added.
Veitch joined NYK in 1994 as managing director of subsidiary company UCI Logistics and became CEO of NYK's merged UK logistics businesses in 2005. He was appointed to the Board of Corporate Officers of NYK Group in Japan in 2007, the first European to do so. His responsibilities increased and diversified in 2011 with the merger of Yusen Air & Sea and NYK Logistics, forming the new Yusen Logistics division.
Veitch has been a member of the FTA Board since 2008 and is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.
Fred van der Heijden will take over as managing director of transport maintenance provider Groeneveld Benelux in June. Groeneveld Benelux is the sales and service organisation of Groeneveld Transport Efficiency, covering the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. He replaces Wim Zieleman who has moved to a new position as senior sales coach, Business Development.
Van der Heijden was most recently sales manager at MAN Nederland Dealer BV handling the marketing activities for the MAN dealerships in Eindhoven, Tilburg, Helmond and 's-Hertogenbosch. He joined MAN in 2006 after working as account manager within the DAF and Volvo dealer organisations.
April saw the appointment of Steffen Rabus to the position of chairman at the International Logistics Forum, a division of the Diplomatic Council, a non-governmental think tank that promotes “international understanding”, with offices in Germany and Sri Lanka. Rabus is director and CEO of Global Supply Chain Solutions (G-SCS), a freight audit provider and fourth party logistics provider (4PL).
“With Steffen Rabus we have found the ideal candidate for our International Logistics Forum,” said Hang Nguyen, secretary general of the Diplomatic Council. “[He] has made just as good a name as an entrepreneur as a successful businessman in amongst other things than logistics. He also has a global network of contacts, which he will bring into the Diplomatic Council. This will benefit all businesses and organisations involved in the DC International Logistics Forum,” said Nguyen.
