Jim Barber appointed president for UPS in Europe region
UPS has appointed Jim Barber as its new president for its operations in the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. Barber, 51, steps up from his previous role as chief operations of the Europe Region, succeeding Wolfgana Flick, who is retiring.
The new president of the UPS Europe Region takes on responsibility for all of the company’s package, cargo and logistics operations in 120 countries and territories, with more than 40,000 employees.
Dan Brutto, president at UPS International, said: “The Europe Region represents roughly half of UPS’s international revenue so this is a critical assignment and one that’s very important to the future of UPS.”
Barber has been with UPS for 26 years, joining as a delivery driver in the US state of Georgia before promotion into management in his first year for a move through various accounting and billing roles.
During the 1990s, Barber was district controller in two US districts before taking on the controller coordinator position in the UPS West Region in 1998.
After a stint from 2000 back at UPS global HQ in Atlanta with the company’s Mergers and Acquisitions Group, he became controller of the Southeast Region, then Europe Region controller based in Brussels in 2004. Barber was promoted to become president of the UK and Ireland district in 2006 before moving to his current post last year as the European region’s chief operations officer, once again based in Brussels.
UPS said Barber’s latest roles in the UK had included overseeing integration of the company’s 2005 acquisition of LYNX Express, and the expanded scope of the company in the run-up to next year’s London Olympics.
He also oversaw a $105m investment during 2008 in the development and opening of the Tamworth ground hub, the largest UPS facility in the UK and second largest in Europe.
Barber holds a degree in Finance from Auburn University (Alabama, USA) and is married with four children. He is an avid sportsman, with particular interests in rugby, European football and golf, UPS said.
“Throughout his career with UPS, Jim has excelled in leadership positions in both the United States and Europe and we’re confident that he’s going to make a tremendous impact on our Europe Region,” said Brutto.
Meanwhile, Flick is retiring after 35 years of service with UPS.
The former president of the Europe Region was with the company for its first expansion beyond North America, when it launched in Germany in 1976.
Flick had a career at UPS with a number of roles in Europe, including district manager of the Cologne international district, president of the South Europe district and of the German district at various times in the 1990s and 2000s, as well as a period as president of the Utah-Idaho district in the US.
President of the Europe Region since 2004, Flick directed the largest construction project in UPS history outside the US, the expansion of the company’s European air hub in Cologne. He also established a huge campus for healthcare customers in The Netherlands, as well as overseeing various acquisitions in Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey.
“Wolfgang deserves the credit for initially establishing UPS’s European air network, designing and opening the Cologne air hub and putting together the pieces of that air operation,” said Brutto. “His vision and leadership also were instrumental in successfully transforming our European network into an integrated supply chain service provider.”
