Ryder Promotes Diez to Chief Operating Officer
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
Ryder System promoted John Diez to president and chief operating officer effective Jan. 1, the company said.
Diez, currently the chief financial officer, will be responsible for the general management of all business operations of Ryder’s three segments: Fleet Management Solutions, Supply Chain Solutions and Dedicated Transportation Solutions.
Miami-based Ryder ranks No. 6 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 8 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies.
Diez will continue to report to Chairman and CEO Robert Sanchez.
Sanchez
Before becoming CFO in May 2021, Diez was president of the FMS business and president of the DTS unit, which Ryder said saw strong revenue growth and improved business returns under his leadership. Diez has worked for Ryder for 22 years.
Diez held the financial reins while Ryder undertook a long-term turnaround program that began in 2019 and focused on derisking its operations.
The appointment comes at a time when signs are that the freight environment is about to turn to the upside, with Sanchez telling a Goldman Sachs investor conference in early December that rental truck demand and lease miles per vehicle — key performance indicators for the FMS division, Ryder’s biggest unit — boded well for 2025.
U.S. carriers are in the third year of the ongoing freight recession, but tonnage has climbed slowly.
Profit at Ryder in the third quarter of 2024 fell, as the ongoing market weakness continued to hurt rental demand and vehicle sales.
But revenue climbed year over year in the most recent quarter, driven by its February and October 2023 acquisitions of Cardinal Logistics and Impact Fulfillment Services.
Filling Diez’s spot as CFO will be Cristina Gallo-Aquino, who most recently held the title of senior vice president, controller and principal accounting officer. Gallo-Aquino has held that post since August 2020.
Gallo-Aquino
Gallo-Aquino joined Ryder in 2004. Before her current role, she served as CFO for the FMS unit and vice president and corporate controller.
“At Ryder, we have a commitment to talent development at all levels in our organization. This includes providing leadership opportunities in positions that broaden our team’s capabilities through rotational assignments, as well as providing roles of increasing responsibility that contribute to the long-term progress and stability of our company,” said Sanchez.
“These appointments are an example of that commitment. Both executives bring a powerful combination of industry knowledge to their new roles,” Sanchez added, “complemented by a deep understanding of Ryder’s overall business operations and how our business units collaborate.”
