DHL Global Forwarding has appointed Charles Kaufmann as chief executive officer for North Asia from August 1 2015, covering Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea and Taiwan.

“North Asia’s exports have become a major engine of growth for the global economy: exports from both South Korea and Taiwan have hit all-time highs in 2014, driven by key industries like consumer electronics and automobiles that demand safe, timely and industry-unique logistics solutions to stay competitive,” said Kelvin Leung, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding in the Asia-Pacific. “For emerging markets like Mongolia, where foreign investments have hit consistent highs of US$16 billion per quarter since mid-2014, core expert industries like mining, which accounts for nearly 90% of all export revenues in 2014, will require scalable and high-volume logistic networks to reach their full potential.”

Leung added that North Asia’s range of economies demand nuanced approaches to trade and logistics.

Kaufmann said that he was excited because freight is “a thriving business” in North Asia and that there was “enormous growth potential.”

Kaufmann will remain as head of value-added services in the Asia-Pacific and will report directly to Leung. He was previously senior vice president of operations in the Asia-Pacific, head of air freight in the Asia-Pacific, and chief operating office for North Asia-Pacific.