LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT IN SUPPLY CHAIN
“ I can reinvent complex operating models and make an impact industry-wide ”
David Bozeman became the ninth black CEO on the Fortune 500 when he joined US-based logistics giant CH Robinson in June 2023 .
Bozeman has a huge job . The company – founded in 1905 – is one of the world ’ s largest third-party logistics services providers . It has around 100K customers across 150 countries , and its revenue for 2022 was US $ 24.7bn . Every year it handles an estimated US $ 30bn in freight under-management and roughly 20 million shipments . Among the services it provides are freight transportation and logistics and outsourcing solutions .
He faces a stiff test in other senses too , because CH Robinson is in need of a turnaround plan , having failed to fully capitalise on the huge upcycle in freight in 2020 and 2021 .
Previous CEO Bob Biesterfeld admitted that Robinson had over-hired during the freight bubble of the early 2020s , and was caught with too many employees and too few loads to move . There followed two rounds of layoffs .
Analysts also pointed out that , under Biesterfeld , the company invested massively in technology , but returned results that weren ’ t commensurate with this .
There is also pressure from investor Ancora Holdings Group to sell off the international freight forwarding arm of the business , which provides multimodal services .
20 April 2024