Jim Barber Named President of UPS Europe

UPS (NYSE: UPS) has appointed Jim Barber, a 26-year UPS veteran, its new president of the UPS Europe Region with responsibility for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Barber, 51, most recently served as the chief operations officer of the Europe Region and succeeds the retiring Wolfgang Flick as the region’s president. In his new role, Barber will be responsible for all UPS package, cargo and logistics operations in 120 countries and territories with more than 40,000 employees.

“Throughout his career with UPS, Jim has excelled in leadership positions in both the United States and Europe and we’re confident that he’s going to make a tremendous impact on our Europe Region,” said Dan Brutto, president, UPS International. “The Europe Region represents roughly half of UPS’s international revenue so this is a critical assignment and one that’s very important to the future of UPS.”

Barber joined UPS in 1985 as a delivery driver in the United States in Georgia, then was promoted into management later that same year and began moving through a series of accounting and billing positions. In 1993, he was promoted to controller of the West New York District in Buffalo, N.Y., then transferred to a similar position with the North Illinois District before being promoted again in 1998 to controller coordinator of the West Region.

In 2000, Barber transferred to UPS’s global headquarters in Atlanta to join the Mergers and Acquisitions Group, then became controller of the Southeast Region before assuming the post of Europe Region Controller in Brussels in 2004. In January 2006, Barber was promoted to the post of president of the UK and Ireland District, based in London, then moved to his current post as region chief operations officer in 2010, based in Brussels.

In his most recent assignments, in London and Brussels, Barber has played key roles in overseeing the integration of one of UPS’s largest recent acquisitions and in setting the stage for the 2012 London Olympics. The acquisition of LYNX Express Ltd. in late 2005 significantly expanded the scope of UPS’s operation throughout the United Kingdom and it fell to Barber as the District’s president to guide that integration.

In 2008, Barber oversaw a $105 million investment that led to the construction and opening of the Tamworth ground hub, the company’s largest facility in the UK and second largest in Europe.

And in both his District and Region positions, Barber has been overseeing preparations that are now reaching a feverish pace to launch the logistics network necessary to stage the 2012 Olympics, a task described as biggest peacetime logistical undertaking in the world. As it did in Beijing in 2008, UPS is serving as the official logistics and express delivery provider of the London Games. It will be up to UPS to operate the Games Logistics and Command Centre as well as provide an integrated supply chain network that includes logistics planning, warehousing services and transportation.

Flick is retiring after 35 years of service to UPS, including the last 7½ years as president of the Europe Region. He is a “Day One” employee of UPS’s first expansion beyond North America, when the company launched its German operation in 1976.

Flick originally joined the company as a center supervisor in Giessen, Germany, then moved through a series of positions of increasing responsibility. By 1987, Flick had been promoted to the post of air manager for the Europe Region, then became the district manager of the Cologne Air / International District in 1991. In 1995, Flick became the president of the Utah-Idaho District in the United States, then became the president of the South Europe District. In 2001, Flick became the president of the Germany District and in 2004, was promoted to president of the Europe Region.

During his tenure as Region president, Flick directed the expansion of UPS’s European air hub in Cologne – the largest construction project outside the U.S. in the company’s history – then built what is now a massive campus to serve healthcare customers in The Netherlands. He also oversaw the acquisitions of companies in Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey to expand UPS’s European footprint.

“Wolfgang deserves the credit for initially establishing UPS’s European air network, designing and opening the Cologne air hub and putting together the pieces of that air operation,” Brutto noted. “His vision and leadership also were instrumental in successfully transforming our European network into an integrated supply chain service provider. He’s played a leading role in building UPS’s international infrastructure.”

UPS (NYSE:UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including the transportation of packages and freight; the facilitation of international trade, and the deployment of advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the Web at UPS.com and its corporate blog can be found at blog.ups.com. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.