The week that was: 21 January 2011
Chopra takes role at Canada Post, UK union disappointed by MPs, and Intermec acquires Vocollect… Good afternoon one and all, Post&Parcel hopes you have had a pleasant week. We are here to give you a glimpse into the key industry stories over the last seven days. Let’s have a look…
Big news in Canada this week, where it was announced Deepak Chopra has been appointed president and CEO of Canada Post. Chopra will join the organisation on 1 February and will serve for an initial term of five years. Up until recently, he occupied the position of president and CEO of the Canada and Latin America region at Pitney Bowes in Toronto. Chopra takes over the hot seat from Moya Greene, who left the North American operator in July of last year to become chief executive at Royal Mail in the UK. Stewart Bacon has served as interim president and CEO since Greene’s departure. The announcement was made by the Chuck Strahl, minister of transport, infrastructure and communities, and Rob Merrifield, minister of state (transport).”Canada Post Corporation will benefit greatly from Mr. Chopra’s dynamic leadership,” said Merrifield. “His 15 years of executive experience in providing operational excellence and innovation in the mailing industry will ensure that Canada Post continues to build on the progress already made towards providing postal services that Canadians can count on, maintaining rural service and protecting the mail.” An illustrious career at Pitney Bowes has seen him lead the company’s Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, as well as occupying the position of vice-president of the finance and operations branch for the Europe, Africa and Middle East region. Post&Parcel wishes him the best of luck in his new role.
Over in the UK, union officials expressed their disappointment this week in MPs who voted in favour of the Postal Services Bill. Following the reading of the Bill in the House of Commons, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said that “MPs have missed the opportunity to safeguard post offices and postal services by not backing key amendments”. The Bill – which includes privatising up to 90% of Royal Mail, as well as separating Post Office Ltd from the business – was passed with a government majority of 81. This is the first time that legislation to enable Royal Mail to benefit from private capital has been approved by MPs. Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, said: “We’re very disappointed that MPs didn’t take the opportunity to safeguard post offices in [the] parliamentary session. However, 6 MPs did recognise the importance of amending the Bill to safeguard post offices and voted against the government. “MPs from all parties spoke in favour of amendments showing the breadth of concern across the House. We will continue to campaign for protection for postal services and post offices as the Postal Services Bill moves into the House of Lords.” The Bill moves to the House of Lords next week – stay tuned to P&P for developments.
In other news, Intermec acquired voice-centric solutions provider Vocollect after the companies agreed on a $190m all-cash offer. Vocollect – a provider of voice-centric solutions for mobile workers worldwide – is privately held by Riverside Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm and private investors. As it stands, Vocollect boasts a customer list of 1,500 companies, with 300,000 users globally. The acquisition will broaden Intermec’s applications and solution offerings in the warehouse workflow and help to establish a stronger position in software-oriented solutions. The move will also extend Vocollect’s voice solutions into the rapidly growing markets served by Intermec and its channel partners. “This acquisition is a major step for Intermec in building a software-centric solutions business in the warehouse, the largest AIDC deployment environment,” said Patrick Byrne, Intermec’s president and chief executive officer. “For many years, Vocollect has built the premier set of voice-centric warehouse solutions and has achieved a strong global market leading position.” Upon completion of the transaction, Joe Pajer, Vocollect’s president and chief executive officer, will lead the Intermec Voice Solutions business and report to Byrne. Pajer added: “We are excited about the combination with Intermec. Working together, we believe we can accelerate the adoption of voice centric solutions on a global basis and create new innovative warehouse solutions capabilities for our customers and partners.”
And finally…
World Mail & Express Americas is fast approaching – with the event taking place in Mexico City on 7-9 February. The Americas market is a hotbed of opportunity for post and parcel providers alike, so book now to avoid being left behind!
