Hogan quits as DHL boss
Mystery surrounds the departure of DHL’s UK MD John Hogan, who has been replaced by Chris Muntwyler, a Swiss national who was running the Central Europe region. The company, turning over (pounds sterling)1.4bn in the UK, says Hogan has left “to pursue other interests” and declined to elaborate, although a spokesman says he would be surprised if Hogan did not “pop up again” soon in the industry. Industry insiders say that Hogan has fallen on his sword, or been pushed onto it, because profit margins are well below expectation in what is a major market for DHL. It is also suggested that Hogan struggled to adjust to the matrix management philosophy, and the influence of the head office in Germany. Rivals are hoping for – but perhaps not expecting – an end to what they say has been extreme price-cutting in the parcels sector by DHL this year. DHL is market leader and has been driving rates down, leading rival firms say. “They’ve been out there buying business,” says Nigel Barton, operations director of TNT Express. But the other way to improve profit is to cut costs, firms note. Paul Jackson, chairman at express sector consultancy Triangle, says there is little chance of rates going anywhere but down. He predicts falls of at least 5% a year for the next ten years and further consolidation. Fewer companies will mean more parcels per delivery point. In Germany, the ratio is five to one; in the UK, it is 2.5 to one, he says. DHL said there would be no change in the strategic direction of the business, which now includes a drive into home delivery. Hogan, an Irishman, is credited with improving Securicor Express UK and Ireland up to the takeover by Deutsche Post and managing the merger with the “old DHL” business in the UK – a process that appears to have gone more smoothly that rivals predicted. Chris Muntwyler is a director of the Circus Monti, which was founded by his family.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Reed Business Information Ltd.
