Amerijet boss Tim Strauss retires, CFO Joe Mozzali takes over

Tim Strauss has retired from Amerijet, the US freighter airline where he has been chief executive for the past three years. He will be replaced by CFO Joe Mozzali at the end of this week.

Sources say Mr Strauss, a widely known and respected figure in air cargo, is unlikely to sit still however, although he may prefer to stay near his home town in Minnesota.

“We thank Tim for his excellent leadership during a period of tremendous growth for Amerijet over the past three years, and wish him well in his retirement,” said Bob Horne, partner at ZS Fund and an Amerijet board member.

Mr Mozzali joined Amerijet in February from UPS, where he spent 15 years, the last four as CFO of UPS International and UPS Airline. He was also CEO of Kiala, a European e-commerce logistics company acquired by UPS.

Mr Horne said: “We are very excited about Joe becoming Amerijet’s next CEO. His leadership skills, strategic insights, deep industry knowledge, and disciplined management style make him the perfect choice to lead our company. We have great confidence in Joe’s ability to lead us to new heights as the air cargo carrier of choice.”

Mr Mozzali said: “Over the past several years, Amerijet has significantly expanded its fleet and entered new markets while diversifying its service offerings. With much of the industry facing cost and demand headwinds, success demands agility, innovation, and disciplined operational excellence with a surgical focus on enhancing the customer experience. We will leverage our current strengths while continuing to build foundations for future growth.”

Mr Strauss, 68, who has also held senior roles at Air Canada Cargo and Hawaiian, had something of a bumpy ride initially at Amerijet, quitting after just one year in the job. Sources indicated at the time that the former CEO, who became executive chair, was unable to leave behind the day-to-day control of the airline. Just a week later, however, Mr Strauss returned after concerns from the investors – “even the pilots went to bat for him”, said a source.