Ian Kirkpatrick becomes new central services director at Europa Worldwide

UK forwarder and road freight provider Europa Worldwide has appointed Ian Kirkpatrick (pictured above) as its new central services director, with a seat on the board.

He will succeed Carl Potter who, after nearly 11 years in the business, will retire in January.

Mr Potter has worked with group MD Andrew Baxter since he acquired Europa in 2013, and “has been a pillar in the growth and development of the now £205m turnover business”.

“After seven years of working together, I am incredibly sad to say goodbye to Carl Potter, who has been involved from the very beginning in the strategic growth and development of the business,” said Mr Baxter.

“It was certainly a difficult task to replace him, but I believe Ian’s skill set and experience will be highly beneficial. Particularly his specialisms in organisational change during mergers and acquisitions, alongside his proven experience of establishing, managing, developing and coaching cross-functional, high-performing teams.

“We recognise he is an inspirational and effective business leader and are excited to see him take on the role and support us in continuing to drive the business forward,” he added.

Mr Kirkpatrick will be responsible for HR, property and facilities, insurance management, compliance, and health and safety aspects of the business.

He has 30 years’ experience across a wide range of sectors within the FMCG arena, covering food and beverages, manufacturing, retail and automotive in leading business within the logistics and supply chain sectors. Most recently, he was group HR, estates and facilities director for Japanese trading house Itochu’s UK and Europe subsidiary.

“I am delighted to be joining Europa Worldwide Group. I’ve seen how quickly the business has grown since 2013 and the continued investments being made,” he said.

“As an already well-established and highly successful business, my task will be to continue to drive out complexity across Europa’s operations. Initially I will assess, review and evaluate existing structures, systems and processes to identify, develop and deliver, where needed, innovative solutions to improve operational effectiveness, reduce costs and improve shareholder and customer value.

“I’m looking forward to the variety of the role – being able to influence, grow and develop a whole host of areas within the business, working directly with Andrew Baxter,” he added.