BMW has reorganised its logistics function and integrated it as a department called Network Steering and Logistics within the production division. The new department is headed by Jügen Maidl who will now report directly to Frank-Peter Arndt, the board member responsible for production. BMW confirmed that Arndt would take more responsibility for BMW’s logistics activity.
According to a spokesperson for the carmaker the reorganisation means there will be no successor for Dr Karl May who left his position as head of logistics, design and supply networks in February and has taken up a new position in outbound logistics as head of Vehicle Distribution and VDCs (vehicle distribution centres).
Heath Holtz has moved from his position as deputy general manager at Nissan Motor’s Global Supply Chain Management department based in Japan to take up a new role as vice president of Supply Chain Management at Nissan Europe. He will be based at the carmaker’s facility in Sunderland, UK.
Holtz, whose Nissan career began in vehicle operations, was also previously director of logistics at Nissan North America.
Meanwhile, at Nissan North America Ben Shain is moving from his role as senior manager of Vehicle Logistics at the beginning of May to take up a new role as head of Parts Logistics.
Avril Palmer-Baunack has left her role as executive chairman of freight transport provider Stobart just two months after she was appointed to the role. Rodney Baker-Bates, who she replaced following his resignation in January and was reported to be serving out a one-month tenure as non-executive director, will now remain on the board to assist the company in finding a replacement for Palmer-Baunack. She will also remain on the board as a non-executive chairman until the Stobart Group’s results are released on 16 May this year.
Senior independent director, Alan Kelsey, has indicated his intention to leave the board at the same time as Palmer-Baunack.
Stobart said that the role of executive chairman was “no longer appropriate” against a trading background that included a new three-year contract with Tesco for primary and secondary distribution services, and results that were expected to be “moderately ahead of market expectations”.
Stobart did not comment further on its decision or the somewhat elliptical explanation for the removal of the executive chairman role. A spokesperson for the company said only that Palmer-Baunack was looking forward to her next executive (rather than non-executive) challenge. He also said that Stobart’s executive team was halfway through a four-year strategic plan announced in 2011, which they believe will “deliver value to shareholders”.
In January the company sold its Stobart Vehicle Services division to UK-based fleet management and logistics provider Paragon Group and the division was renamed Paragon Vehicle Services. Stobart Vehicle Services was formerly part of the Autologic business Stobart bought in September last year for £12.4m ($19.6m). Palmer-Baunack, who was former head of Autologic, moved to Stobart following the buyout and was appointed Group executive director and deputy chief executive (read more here).
The spokesperson said that he was not aware that Palmer-Baunack’s departure was anything to do with the sale or with the vehicle logistics business.
Irina Shapovalova has moved from her position as business development manager at Russian finished vehicle carrier Vectura to take up a new role as director of business development at Russian Transport Lines (RTL).
Shapovalova said there were a number of reasons for her decision to move to RTL, including the opportunities for professional growth offered by the company’s development of complex integrated logistics services for OEMs, which involved everything from deepsea and port services to inbound and rail container services, customs and vehicle distribution.
“My aspiration in the role is to elaborate the different schemes of these complex integrated services, which will allow OEMs to achieve full satisfaction in their logistics service needs,” said Shaovalova.
Dr Stefan Asenkerschbaumer will be appointed the new deputy chairman of the board of management at component provider Bosch from the beginning of July this year.
Asenkerschbaumer has been the board of management member responsible for finance, purchasing and logistics, and information technology since 2010 and has worked for the Bosch Group since 1987. His range of responsibilities since joining have been varied and included two years as head of materials planning and logistics and the company’s Stuttgart-Feuerbach plant.
Asenkerschbaumer will retain his responsibilities for finance, purchasing, logistics and IT.
Philippe Gilbert has taken over the position of regional director Europe West at DB Schenker Logistics, replacing Karl Nutzinger, who has been responsible for the region on an interim basis. Nutzinger will now concentrate on his main responsibilities as member of the Board of Schenker overseeing land transport.
Gilbert moves from his previous role heading the freight management division of SNCF subsidiary Geodis Wilson but will remain based in Paris from where he will coordinate the DB Schenker Logistics activities in France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
“I am delighted that Philippe Gilbert is joining our team,” said Dr Thomas Lieb, chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Schenker. “With his support, we will continue to expand our services in a very important region of Europe.”
