Freight forwarder Flexport has appointed Sudhanshu Priyadarshi as its new chief financial officer, Huey Lin as its new president of Asia and Jeff Thomas as its new chief marketing officer.
According to Flexport, the new executives will accelerate the company’s global growth and position as the leading technology-powered freight forwarder.
“Freight forwarding is the circulatory system for global trade – but it runs on paper,” said Ryan Petersen, founder and CEO of Flexport. “This is a huge problem. Flexport is focused on transforming this US$1 trillion industry, by bringing the information revolution to global trade and helping to unlock a new golden age for humanity.”
Priyadarshi will lead all financial operations for Flexport. He has more than 20 years of experience in e-commerce, retail, pharmaceutical and consumer goods in the US, Asia and Australia. He was most recently vice president of finance at Walmart US eCommerce. He was previously global chief operating officer of pharmaceutical company Cipla and chief financial officer of PepsiCo’s global nutrition platforms and global R&D.
“We plan to scale the company tremendously in the new year,” said Petersen. “Sudhanshu has driven growth and transformed companies in both emerging and developed markets, and has an outstanding reputation for positively impacting the top and bottom line at some of the world’s largest corporations. His experience will be crucial for Flexport as we grow our footprint and command an even larger share of global trade. I’m thrilled that he’s joining our team.”
Lin will oversee all activity for Flexport across Asia. She has been chief operating officer of financial technology company Affirm for the past six years. She previously spent more than a decade at PayPal, where she led China and Asia-Pacific operations and served in key leadership roles in product, international risk and policy strategy.
“Huey is a world-class operator who has built and led large teams and driven growth across the globe, including in Asia, one of our most significant markets,” Petersen said. “Her experience running teams and growing businesses in Asia is second to none and she is a critical and highly valued addition to our team.”
Thomas will be responsible for leading all company-wide, global marketing activities. He will develop Flexport’s brand and drive sales pipeline development and revenue growth. He has more than 20 years of experience at major technology companies such as Salesforce.com, Microsoft and HP, as well as pre-IPO companies. He was most recently chief marketing officer of advanced analytics and business intelligence platform Periscope Data.
“Jeff is one of the most experienced, creative and data-driven marketers and leaders in the tech industry,” said Petersen. “He understands intimately how to build and orchestrate marketing programmes that deliver results. His expertise in growing platform businesses will help us elevate our brand and footprint and drive growth in markets across the globe. I’m very excited that he has joined Flexport.”
Flexport has doubled its headcount to over 1,000 in the past year and expanded its presence to nine offices around the world, adding key services such as air freight, trucking and warehousing. The company generated US$237 million in sales in 2017.
“At Flexport, we believe that a world that does business together is a better one,” said Petersen. “Our vision is to unite the planet in a seamless web of commerce, without regard for physical borders, boundaries or political agendas. I’m looking forward to the expertise and diverse perspectives Sudhanshu, Huey and Jeff will bring to Flexport in our journey to achieve this vision. We’re proud to have them on our team and I’m very excited about what’s ahead in 2019.”
