20 DC VELOCITY AUGUST 2015 www.dcvelocity.com
newsworthy
Supply chain consulting firm Fortna Inc. has handed the
chief-executive reins to 20-year logistics industry veteran
and company president John A. White III.
White has been with the company since 2006 and has
served as president since 2010, helping push the Reading,
Pa.-based Fortna to quadruple its revenue during his
tenure. He also guided its global expansion into Mexico,
Latin America, and the Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA)
region and grew its client base to serve major brands such
as L.L.Bean Inc., Sony Corp., and Burlington Coat Factory.
Former CEO Peter Counihan will stay with Fortna,
retaining his position as chairman of the board to focus
on key client and associate interactions, while continuing
to shift the day-to-day operations to White, the company
announced July 20. Counihan purchased Fortna in 1988
and transformed the company from a material handling
equipment integrator into a professional-services and engineering firm.
In his new position, White is expected to follow the same
tactics that have sparked the company’s recent growth, such
as making significant infrastructure investments in systems,
methodologies, and research and development activities to
drive innovation.
“Fortna has great opportunities ahead. We’ll keep marching forward on the strategic path we’ve chosen, focused on
client service and being an accountable partner for delivering their business case for change, serving new geographies,
and continuing to provide distribution-operations thought
leadership,” White said in a release.
“Look for even more changes as we continue to strive for
more innovative ways to help our clients turn their distribution operations into a competitive advantage,” said White.
Before joining Fortna, White spent more than 20 years
in executive positions with supply chain consulting and
software firms, including Capgemini LLC, Manugistics Inc.,
and Accenture.
White was also honored as a DC VELOCITY Rainmaker in
2013 and took that opportunity to ascribe his success in the
supply chain profession to lessons learned around the dinner table from his father, an early leader in career-focused
material handling education at Georgia Tech.
As he takes up the reins of his new position, White
received a vote of confidence from his predecessor.
“Under John’s leadership, Fortna has grown stronger in
every way,” Counihan said in a release. “We are stronger
financially and have a great management team. We have
raised the level of professionalism of the company. And yet
we have been able to retain the culture that is at the core of
our success—one that puts our clients’ interests first.”
—B.A.
Fortna president John A. White III
adds CEO to title
Michael Torch has joined the supply chain consulting and IT services firm enVista as director of
design solutions. … Intelligrated has appointed
Russ Mellott vice president, software sales.
… Crane Worldwide Logistics, an air, ocean,
trucking, customs brokerage, and logistics company, has named Adel Chaveleh as its chief
information officer and Terry Unrein as its new
vice president of global sales. … Tiger Cool
Express LLC, a temperature-con-trolled intermodal transporter
of produce and food products,
has named Cortney Keenan
vice president of marketing. …
Forte, a warehouse automation
and warehouse execution software firm, has hired Steve Hooper as a senior
automation engineer and Fred Fox as a project
manager. … Toyota Industrial Equipment has
promoted Cesar Jimenez to director, product
planning, technical services, and warranty. …
Port Jersey Logistics, a third-party logistics
service provider, has hired financial planning
and analysis specialist Leila Davis as its newest controller. … Doug Pickard has retired as
CEO of Cimcorp Automation Ltd., a manufacturer and integrator of robotic order fulfillment solutions. His successor, Rick Trigatti, will
expand his current responsibilities by stepping
into the role of president of the company’s
North American subsidiary. … Southeastern
Freight Lines, a provider of regional less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation services, has
promoted Donna Andrews to vice president of
information technology and Woody Lovelace
to senior vice president of corporate planning
and development. … Johanson Transportation
Service, a third-party logistics service provider, has hired three new logistics coordinators
for its Midwest division: Danielle Prell, Steve
Boyd, and Spencer Shelman. … Breakthrough
Fuel has promoted Kelly Williams to managing
director and vice president. The transportation
energy management firm has also hired Matt
Balzola as its global sales director and Elaine
Stephens as lead data scientist. … CarrierDirect,
a provider of advisory and tactical services to
transportation and logistics companies, has
appointed Erik Malin executive vice president.
… Jacob Griffith has been selected as general
manager of Choptank Transport’s Tampa, Fla.,
office.
newsmakers
JIMENEZ
