Michael Larsson

Dematic - United States

KION Group has appointed Michael Larsson as president of Dematic Corp, replacing Hasan Dandashly, who has retired.

In his new position, Larsson will have responsibility for the KION industrial truck segment (ITS) for the Americas while retaining responsibility for the Dematic Americas region.

Larsson has 35 years of experience in industrial automation and robotics and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Stockholm University School of Economics in Sweden.

Prior to joining Dematic three years ago, Larsson was senior vice president and managing director of ABB's automotive business unit.

"With his responsibility for the Dematic SCS business globally and ITS in the Americas, Michael Larsson will further drive our strong commitment to profitable growth,” says KION Group chief executive officer Rob Smith.

“He will expand our integrated solutions strategy on lighthouse projects with top customers."

Larsson says: "With the industry undergoing fundamental change, driving the need for increasing levels of automation, Dematic is in a great position to lead with innovative software and technology solutions.

“I would like to thank Hasan for his strong contributions to the company over the last five years building a strong foundation for future growth," said Larsson.”  

Xavier Garijo

CHEP - United States

CHEP has appointed Xavier Garijo chief executive officer of Americas, following the announcement that the company’s North America’s president Laura Nador left her role at the end of 2023.

Garijo brings 25 years of experience managing global consumer good supply chains and operations, as well as multi-industry global logistics businesses. 

He was most recently a global executive board member for contract logistics at German logistics company DB Schenker, where he was responsible for the global contract logistics business, which has a workforce of 40,000 people in 60 countries. 

Prior to that, Garijo worked in the US and Europe for 20 years, including managing end-to-end supply chains and operations for Revlon as chief supply chain officer and in roles of increasing responsibility with Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever.  

In this newly-created position, Garijo will lead the Americas region combining the previously separate CHEP North America and CHEP Latin America business units.

“Xavier is well positioned to build on Laura’s legacy and successes to serve the market needs of today and the future,” says Graham Chipchase, chief executive officer at Brambles, CHEP’s parent company. 

“As the Americas region moves into this new era, Xavier’s extensive experience in global supply chains and commercial management across the fast-moving consumer goods and logistics industries make him a fantastic choice to elevate the business and lead growth.”

Paola Floris, president of CHEP Latin America, and Frank Bozzo, vice president and general manager of CHEP Canada and Pallecon North America, will continue in their current capacities and report directly into Garijo.

Dr Tobias Burger

Dachser - Hong Kong

Dr Tobias Burger is the new chief operations officer air and sea at German logistics company Dachser, replacing Edoardo Podestà who retired after a career spanning more than 20 years with the company.

Burger, who holds a doctorate in business administration, began his career as a strategy consultant at Siemens Management Consulting. 

He joined Dachser in 2009. After working in controlling and strategy development, he was given responsibility for corporate governance. At that time, he was already overseeing the strategic development of the global air and sea freight network. 

Burger was appointed deputy director air and sea logistics in 2019. 

“The thoroughly prepared handover at the top of the air and sea logistics business field reflects the targeted and long-term oriented further development of our intercontinental network," says Bernhard Simon, chairman of Dachser’s supervisory board. 

"Edoardo Podestà has built up our Asian business since 2003 and has made a significant contribution to the growth of our company over the past four years as COO air and sea logistics. 

“With Dr Tobias Burger, we now have an experienced logistics strategist at the helm of our air and sea logistics organisation who has a deep and holistic understanding of the complex challenges facing the global logistics markets now and in the future."