UPS hires Pepsi executive to be CFO as Richard Peretz retires

[DALLAS] United Parcel Service (UPS) named a longtime PepsiCo veteran as chief financial officer (CFO), extending a push to hire outsiders as chief executive officer David Abney revamps the courier to handle the rise of online shopping.

Brian Newman, 50, will take the reins as CFO on Sept 16, UPS said in a statement Monday. Richard Peretz, 57, who is retiring, will stay on through December "to ensure a smooth transition period", the company said.

The appointment deepens Mr Abney's break from tradition at a company known for developing top leaders internally. Since late 2017, the CEO has added three executives from other companies to UPS's management committee while also implementing a three-year US$20 billion investment plan to boost capacity and increase efficiency.

"Brian's deep finance knowledge and broad cross-functional experience will be a great asset as we continue our transformation," Mr Abney said in the statement.

UPS was little changed at US$114.88 after the close of regular trading in New York. The shares have advanced 18 per cent this year, outpacing the 15 per cent gain of a Standard & Poor's index of industrial companies. FedEx fell 1.6 per cent during the same period.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Mr Newman brings a range of international experience, having worked in Asia, Europe, and the US during a 26-year career at PepsiCo. He was recently in charge of finance and operations across Latin America at the maker of soft drinks and snacks. Before joining PepsiCo, Mr Newman was an investment banker.

Mr Peretz, who joined UPS in 1981, has played a key role in developing UPS's response as Amazon.com pushes to make deliveries faster and cheaper.

He was one of the architects of UPS's investment plan championed by Mr Abney, which calls for buying cargo aircraft and building hubs to sort packages. The Atlanta-based company is also focusing more on small business customers and deliveries for the healthcare industry to shore up profit margins.

Mr Abney, 63, has loaded up his management team with hires from outside the company. He joined UPS in 1974 as a part-time package loader and worked his way up through the ranks.

At the end of 2017, Mr Abney brought in Scott Price from Walmart as chief transformation officer. Kevin Warren, a former executive from Xerox, was hired last year as chief marketing officer and Philippe Gilbert, who worked with logistics company DB Schenker, was appointed to run Supply Chain Solutions earlier this year.

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