In announcing the appointment of John Pattullo as CEO and vice chairman of the board of Ceva, Gareth Turner, a partner of Apollo Management, said the board was pleased to retain Dave Kulik as CEO during the transition and as vice chairman of the board of Ceva afterwards. Kulik has been CEO of Ceva since 2003 when it was TNT Logistics, a division of Dutch express and postal services company TNT. Kulik presided over the transformation of TNT Logistics and its eventual sale to Apollo Management in 2006. During that time, he retained his role as CEO of the North American logistics operations and he will remain as CEO of that Ceva division following the transition.
Pattullo, who is expected to join Ceva in the second half of 2007, has a long history in logistics, including, in addition to his position at DHL Exel, a role as vice president for supply chain at Procter & Gamble’s $17 billion global beauty care business.
Though the transition is still months away, John Manners-Bell of Transport Intelligence suggests, “When the new CEO takes his position, there will inevitably be a change of strategic focus and management style, which may take some time for the newly independent company to adjust to.”
