Hermes CEO Hanjo Schneider has been appointed to the executive board of the Otto Group with responsibility for Services from 1 February 2009. As a result, there will be changes at the top at the Hermes Logistik Gruppe (HLG). In addition to his board activities, from 1 July 2008 Hanjo Schneider will also be responsible for developing a European consortium within the HLG. New chairman of the HLG executive board will be Harmut Ilek. The transport logistics unit headed by Frank Rausch will be positioned on the international market as an independent company.
From 1 February 2009, Hanjo Schneider will be joining the Otto Group Executive Board, assuming responsibility for the Services segment. The logistics services embraced in this Otto Group segment are to be developed in the coming years, and by exploiting synergies are to be positioned as a key competitor in the market.
"I am of course delighted to take on such a fascinating responsibility and challenge especially given the fact that the Services segment is one of the booming business units in the Otto Group and one in which Otto Group planning plays a strategically significant role", says Hanjo Scheider. He will be handing over the reins as chairman of the HLG executive board with effect from 1 July 2008, after six years in office. In addition to his board activities, Hanjo Schneider will also be responsible for developing a European consortium within the HLG.
New Management in GermanyThe new chairman of the HLG board in Germany is Harmut Ilek who has headed the company’s parcel division with success for several years. In the past financial year, the company shipped over a quarter of a billion consignments. Of this, 28.5 million parcels were attributable to HLG's Privatpaketservice - up 21 percent year-on-year.
New HLG board member with responsibility for sales and marketing is Frank Iden. Previously, he was General Manager of primeMail – a joint venture between HLG and Swiss Post International. Under his leadership, primeMail developed into a specialist for large format and heavy mail, establishing itself as a successful provider for business clients, public authorities and international mail companies.
Independent transport logisticsThe transport logistics business unit that has developed tremendously over recent years is still to be headed by Frank Rausch and, under his leadership, established as an independent company with international operations. The transport network is consequently being aligned to meet European standards. Furthermore, the company is to increasingly explore way of using more environmentally-friendly means of transport to ship goods it virtually exclusively transports by road today.
Growth market Europe"After opening up the Austrian and Italian markets in 2007 and integrating our British sister company, Parcelnet, in the HLG network, our business is becoming increasingly international," says Hanjo Schneider. "Consequently, we shall be building on our existing consortium to be able to position ourselves under a common brand on all markets in the near future."
Within this logistics consortium, Hermes is already well positioned in Europe: Parcelnet for example, is the largest parcel shipper to private customers in the UK. Plans for 2008 envisage revenues of over 300 million euros and the development of a ParcelShop network similar to the Hermes PaketShop system in Germany.
"Hermes already holds a 22 percent share of the European parcel market, currently valued at an estimated 1.5 billion euros. And there are excellent prospects for growth, particularly with Hermes viewed as a European brand from now on," says Hanjo Schneider.