News / DB Schenker appoints Hessel Verhage to lead new transformation department

DB Schenker is set to define its future growth strategy with the creation of a transformation department, which will be led by Hessel Verhage, who has been its CEO for the Americas for the past two and a half years.

The move, exclusively reported by The Loadstar Premium, will no doubt accelerate the rumour mill surrounding the German forwarding outfit, which many observers believe should be split-off from owner Deutsche Bahn, while others claim it has been missing out on M&A opportunities in the market.

In an internal letter, seen by The Loadstar, the DB Schenker board noted that “the world has changed dramatically”, which has led to “substantial upheavals”, which has driven “previously unseen opportunities and challenges in the logistics industry”.

The letter argued that DB Schenker needed to “future-proof …[for] sustainable growth”.

“Therefore, we have been analysing our future strategic direction and identified potential areas to increase our long-term competitiveness. The task now is to leverage this potential, implementing it with concrete measures that drive value.”

Mr Verhage, whose LinkedIn bio says he is a “turnaround professional” has experience with private equity. He was recruited by Wind Point Partners to buy St George Logistics and to bolt-on nine acquisitions, working with lenders and refinancing and recapitalising the company. He was also president global freight forwarding at UTi Worldwide during the period it was acquired by DSV, and he was recruited to head Global Link Logistics and turn around “a severely negative ebitda and poor cash situation”.

It’ll be interesting to see what he does at DB Schenker in his new role.