SEKO Logistics has appointed James Gagne [right in photo] to succeed William J. Wascher [left in photo] as its new president from January 1, 2017.

According to SEKO, Wascher, who has been president and CEO since 2002, will continue as CEO and will become chairman of the company from January 2018.

“I remain committed to the long-term success of SEKO but in recent years have started to focus on a succession plan to build the next generation of leadership so that the company is always in highly capable and steady hands and continues to thrive,” said Wascher. “We are confident James is the right person for the job with his specialist expertise in shaping strategic direction, transformation leadership, driving change, people development, and delivering significantly increased business performance. We are delighted to be giving James this opportunity and expect great things to come under his leadership.”

Gagne, who joined SEKO in 2014 as COO of Asia Pacific and is based in Hong Kong, will relocate to SEKO’s global headquarters in Chicago.

“I am both honoured and excited to assume this new role and would like to thank Bill and our board for their trust and support,” said Gagne. “SEKO Logistics is now at a very dynamic point in its history as we seek to build on our qualitative focus to strengthen our global network, densify our customer value proposition in chosen verticals, and globalize key value-creating processes, with both the customer and technology led supply chain solutions at the forefront of our strategy. I look forward to working with our leadership team, our board, and our colleagues throughout the SEKO global network as we create the future of logistics for our customers.”

Gagne has spent the past 20 years in Asia, holding executive positions with Agility, Schenker/BAX and Maersk, according to SEKO.