CEVA announces CEO change to take effect in January 2014

A change is coming at the top for global third-party logistics (3PL) services provider CEVA Logistics. The Netherlands-based company said today that CEO Marv Schlanger will retire on January 2, 2014 and will be replaced by Xavier Urbain, a former executive at Kuehne+Nagel, a global 3PL.

Upon his retirement from CEO in January, CEVA said Schanger will resume his position as non-executive Chairman of the Board at CEVA.

Urbain brings a deep experience base to CEVA, having previously served on the Management Board and Board of Directors and in several senior executive positions at Kuehne + Nagel and as CEO of ACR Logistics. CEVA also said that in addition to his role as CEO, Urbain has been elected a member of the Board of Directors, effective January 2, 2014, and will work out of the company’s headquarters in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands.

During his tenure as CEO of CEVA, Schlanger has led the company as it had to in some ways rebuild its financial foundation.

“This time last year, we announced a cost reduction program, taking $100 million Euros ($137.8 million U.S.) of costs out of the company in the fourth quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013,” he said last month at a company-hosted media event at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Annual Conference in Denver. “We also announced the recapitalization of the company, where we rebuilt the balance sheet by eliminating $1.3 billion Euros of debt ($1.7 billion U.S.) and receiving receive a capital infusion of a minimum of $301 million ($230 million euros) for investment in its business plan. That was very significant and important in order to build a strong financial future for CEVA.”

With a healthier balance sheet intact, Schlanger said CEVA is now able to focus on growth for its customers, bringing in new services and investments to help support their business, which is being reflected in recent customer wins with large shippers, including Ford, Michelin, and IBM, among others.

Schlanger was appointed Chairman of CEVA in 2009 and he was named CEO of CEVA in October 2012, replacing John Pattullo who is in the CEVA Board of Directors. In September he assumed a role of President Americas ad interim. Schlanger was originally with Mobil and joined ARCO Chemical Company in 1975, becoming Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Board of Directors in 1989, according to his bio on the CEVA Web site.

“When I assumed the leadership position at CEVA, I had a number of immediate priorities to position the company for success in the future,” Schlanger said in a statement. “I am pleased with our progress and the accomplishments of the management and employees of CEVA, and I am excited that we have been able to recruit an executive with the background and stature of Xavier Urbain. I look forward to working with Xavier and the Board of Directors as we execute CEVA’s business plan.”