UPS appoints Canavan to lead Asia Pacific operations

UPS has promoted its North East Europe district president to lead its Asia Pacific region, taking charge of operations in more than 40 countries and territories across Asia. Brendan Canavan, a 31-year UPS veteran, replaces Derek Woodward, whom UPS is pulling back to the United States to lead “a major strategic project”.

The new Asia Pacific president has been based in Brussels isine 2007, with responsibilities including the integration of parcel and express delivery company Stolica, acquired by UPS in 2005, and the realignment of the integrator’s operations in 27 European countries.

His career with UPS has also included time managing Worldport, the UPS global air hub in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2004, where he oversaw integration of Menlo Worldwide Forwarding and the opening of a new dedicated air freight facility.

UPS has been reshaping its Asia Pacific management team in recent months, in April appointing Christopher Perkins and Philip Wu to lead sales and marketing in the region.

Based in Singapore, the UPS Asia Pacific operation comprises 13,604 employees, 1,796 vehicles and 308 sites.

Dan Brutto, the UPS International president, said of the new Asia Pacific chief: “Brendan’s proven track record in a range of key operational functions makes him ideally suited to lead UPS’s Asia Pacific region, which continues to play an increasingly important role in our growth strategy.”

Canavan

A Philadelphia native, Canavan began his career at UPS in 1981 as a part-time package loader, while studying for an economics degree at Villanova University. He was promoted to package division manager in 1989 in New Jersey, before spending most of the 1990s developing new UPS products within the firm’s corporate marketing division.

He continued to rise through the ranks until his Worldport appointment in 2004, including operations manager and district manager roles in Northern Illinois, Upstate New York and Chicago.

Canavan said of his new role that the Asia Pacific region was a “key contributor” to the “best in the industry” international operating margin within UPS, and that a fast-growing middle class in the region would continue such a situation.

“It’s projected that by 2020 more than 1bn consumers will come from China and India alone, and UPS is going to be prepared to serve those consumers,” said the new UPS Asia Pacific president.

Under Woodward’s leadership of UPS Asia Pacific, which began in 2008, the company has opened two new hubs in the region – in Shanghai and Shenzhen – as well as turning its joint venture in South Korea into a wholly-owned operation.

The Canadian native has also led the expansion of healthcare operations at UPS in the region, with the opening of the company’s first healthcare logistics facility in Singapore last year.

“Derek’s leadership has been a key factor in UPS’s success in Asia over the last five years. Through his efforts, we have been able to do more for our customers in the region than ever before,” said Brutto.