DHL completes U.S. restructuring
DHL completed the restructuring of its U.S. operations on Monday, naming John Fellows, a former chief executive of TNT Express Worldwide, as chairman and chief executive of DHL Holdings Inc. (USA).
Fellows, 55, will also be chairman and chief executive of DHL Worldwide Express Inc., DHL’s principal operating company in the U.S. It will handle all ground operations, including freight forwarding, customs brokerage, pickups and deliveries.
DHL Holdings also owns a 45% equity share in DHL Airways Inc. and 25% of the voting stock. The airline and ground operating businesses were separated on Monday.
Fellows replaces Victor Guinasso as DHL’s chief operating officer in the U.S. Guinasso left the company on Monday.
DHL Holdings is a wholly-owned subsidiary of DHL International, the Bermuda-registered and Brussels-based company that controls DHL operations around the world other than those of DHL Airways. Its parent, Deutsche Post World Net, the German postal service, owns 51% of DHL International.
Under the restructuring, Bill Robinson, one of DHL’s original partners, will own 55% of the equity in DHL Airways but control 75% of the voting stock.
The airline, based in Cincinnati, operates 33 owned and leased aircraft in the U.S.
Joe O’Gorman is chairman and chief executive of DHL Airways, while Dick Cozzi is its president and chief operating officer.
Fellows, who is based at DHL’s U.S. corporate headquarters in San Francisco, reports directly to the management executive group of DHL International.
Fellows, a Canadian, joined TNT Express Worldwide in Amsterdam in 1992 as vice president of operations. Two years later he was appointed TNT’s chief executive. During this period he transformed TNT into one of four global overnight express integrators, along with DHL, FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service, while weathering several ownership changes.
William Armbruster can be reached at barmbruster@joc.com.
