By Rip Watson, Senior Reporter This story appears in the Dec. 24 & 31 print edition of Transport Topics.
Ryder System Inc. last week promoted President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Sanchez to the additional post of chairman, effective Jan. 1.
He will succeed Gregory Swienton, who becomes executive chairman until the Miami-based company’s annual shareholder meeting May 1.
Swienton then plans to retire, the company said in a Dec. 17 statement, though he will act “in an advisory capacity” for an unspecified period.
“The initiatives and changes we’ve made over time in all aspects of our business model and culture will serve as a solid foundation in the years ahead,” Swienton said. “The very talented team that will remain in place under the trusted leadership of Robert Sanchez gives me great confidence that Ryder will continue to thrive.”
Sanchez has been president and chief operating officer since February, when he was promoted from his prior post as president of Ryder’s largest unit, Fleet Management Solutions.
Before joining Ryder, he served in engineering positions at Florida Power & Light Co. and Pratt & Whitney.
Swienton has been with Ryder since June 1999 and became president and CEO in November 2000, succeeding M. Anthony Burns, and was promoted to chairman two years later.
He signed on at Ryder after leaving Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., where he was a senior vice president and responsible for intermodal, coal and other assignments during his six-year tenure at the railroad.
During his term as CEO of Ryder, the stock nearly tripled in value. Between 2000 and 2011, annual net income surged 91% to $169.8 million, and annual revenue climbed 13% to $6.05 billion. Ryder also made 14 acquisitions while Swienton led the company.
Ryder’s supply chain solutions unit ranks No. 10 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers and No. 4 on the TT Top 50 list of the largest logistics companies in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
