DC Velocity - February 2016

newsworthy

THE THREE TOP EXECUTIVES OF THE FORMER Menlo Worldwide Logistics, the global contract logistics arm of the former Con-way Inc., were let go Jan. 22 as XPO Logistics Inc., which bought Con-way last year for $3 billion, cleaned out the unit’s upper management echelon.

Robert Bianco, the former Menlo president, has left the company, Greenwich, Conn.-based XPO confirmed, as has Gary Kowalski, the former unit’s chief operating officer. According to two industry sources, Bob Bassett, the former unit’s vice president, sales and marketing, has left, as has Carl Fowler, vice president of sales and solutions, who was believed to have been Bassett’s heir apparent prior to the XPO acquisition. Also departing is Mike Greene, a vice president who, according to his LinkedIn profile, oversaw the company’s largest high-tech account, which was unidentified.

In a statement, Gary Frantz, an XPO spokesman, said Bianco’s and Kowalski’s departures were part of a broad effort to “eliminate redundancies” in the organization. “We’re integrating the former Menlo operations into our global supply chain organization, where we already have a seasoned executive team in place in North America and Europe,” Frantz said. The statement credited Bianco and Kowalski for building a high-quality operation during the past two decades.

Frantz did not comment on the reports of the other departures.

Bianco was with the former Menlo for 19 years and
spent more than 10 years as president, according to
his LinkedIn profile. Kowalski worked for the former
unit for two decades, according to his profile.
XPO is well stocked with contract logistics exec-
utives from New Breed Logistics and French firm
Norbert Dentressangle
S.A., which were both
acquired by XPO over the
past two years. In addi-
tion, Jacobson Cos., a U.S.
firm acquired by Norbert
in 2014, had a deep bench
of contract logistics exec-
utives. Dr. Ashfaque
Chowdhury, who had been
New Breed’s executive vice
president and chief infor-
mation officer prior to its
purchase by XPO, now
runs its supply chain busi-
ness in the Americas and
Asia-Pacific.

The executives of the former Menlo were “the last to the table,” one source said. Despite their abilities and experience, “the pegs were already in place,” meaning that executives from XPO-acquired firms had effectively taken over their roles. All five departing executives are highly regarded, the source said.

Menlo had a strong global presence in warehousing and distribution services, with customers that included Amazon.com, HP Inc., and Nike Inc. In 2014, it generated gross revenue of $1.7 billion, with net revenue—revenue after the costs of purchased services—of $748 million, according to Armstrong & Associates Inc., a consultancy. Menlo ranks 41st among Armstrong’s top 50 third-party logistics service providers (3PLs).