Mixed reactions to C.H. Robinson’s surprising hire of ex-Ford exec Bozeman as CEO

The search for a new CEO for Minneapolis, Minn.-based global logistics services provider and freight forwarder C.H. Robinson has come to an end, with the company announcing Tuesday it tabbed David Bozeman to take the position, effective June 26. Bozeman will also serve as a member of the company’s board of directors.

Bozeman joins C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW) with more than 30 years of experience, coming from his most recent position as vice president of Ford customer service division, and vice president of enthusiast vehicles, for Ford Blue of Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), where he oversaw the overall business performance for some of Ford’s most notable vehicle brands, according to C.H. Robinson officials.

Bozeman is replacing Bob Biesterfeld, who was released from his duties as president and CEO, as well as his role as a member of the board of directors, on Dec. 31, 2022. While CHR said at the time that Biesterfeld stepped down, a Reuters report said that a regulatory filing issued by the company described his exit as “an involuntary termination by the company.”

CHR Chair of the Board of Directors Scott Anderson has served as interim CEO since Biesterfeld’s ouster.

Why not Barber?

Bozeman’s hiring has baffled a few analysts, as a Reuters report in March mentioned Jim Barber, former chief operating officer for Atlanta-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider UPS, as the likely successor. The report noted that Barber, a member of CHR’s board of directors, was in “advanced talks” with the company.

Satish Jindel, president of Wexford, Pa.-based SJ Consulting Group, told Supply Chain Management Review’s sister publication Logistics Management that it was surprising C.H. Robinson passed over Barber and went with an outside hire.

“C.H. Robinson had a very smart guy on its own board with Barber,” he said. “It chose to ignore him, and I know he had interest in the position. Why didn’t that happen? As a publicly traded company, it should explain what went into the selection. “Bozeman’s Ford background is not going to help him with what he does at C.H. Robinson, and he has not operated a public company before [as a CEO]. His Amazon background has some relevance, but if it wanted an Amazon guy, then why didn’t it interview Dave Clark, who did more at Amazon. Bozeman will have his challenges, and I am sure he has all the skills to meet them, because it will be watched.”

Jindel added that he felt C.H. Robinson was “too slow” in announcing a new CEO hire, noting the process could have been done in two-to-three months.”

Bozeman’s background

Before he was with Ford, Bozeman served as vice president of Amazon Transportation Services of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), where he oversaw supply chain optimization for customer delivery across Amazon’s global operations and played a key role rolling out the middle mile global transportation business, which included both ground and air and road and under the roof business operations. He also built and launched global transportation businesses covering digital freight shipping, air transport, and small parcel pickup and delivery businesses, for Amazon.

Bozeman also served as senior vice president, enterprise systems of Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), where he led the global manufacturing for all of the company’s mining products.

Evan Armstrong, president of supply chain consultancy Armstrong & Associates, said that Bozeman is an interesting choice since he doesn’t have direct experience in third-party logistics and industry outsiders don’t tend to fare well in growing 3PLs.

“A lot of solid long-term CHR insiders were also passed over, which may hurt morale,” he said. “On the other hand, Dave’s experience at Ford, Amazon, and Caterpillar may lead to further expansion into integrated 3PL solutions and direct-to-consumer last-mile capabilities. However, from a profitability standpoint, historically those service areas tend to take more capital and have lower returns than CHR’s core non-asset-based transportation management business.”

Customer-first hire?

Cathy Morrow Roberson, founder and president of Atlanta-based Logistics Trends & Insights LLC, observed that it was smart of C.H. Robinson to go with someone with customer experience.

“Combined with the Amazon experience, Bozeman should be able to bring innovative ideas to jumpstart CHR’s growth and to help differentiate it from the rest of the logistics providers,” she said.

And Ben Gordon, founder and managing partner of Palm Beach, Florida-based Cambridge Capital, and managing partner of Ben Gordon Strategic Advisors, explained it is a bold move to go for a candidate who is mostly out of the logistics industry.

“This is a CEO with industrial experience at Ford and Harley-Davidson, plus a stint at Amazon,” he said. “The markets did not agree with the decision, and C.H. Robinson stock dropped precipitously yesterday, and was the second-worst performer in the S&P 500. That said, if he can be a catalyst for change, and shake up a company that was once the clear market leader, then it will be a success. So, I think we need to hear from him as to his plans.”

In a LinkedIn post, Bozeman wrote that he has long admired C.H. Robinson as an industry-leading asset-light logistics provider and for its customer focus.

“C.H. Robinson has superior global services and capabilities, and I couldn’t be more excited about working with the incredible Robinson team as we embark on this next chapter of growth and success together,” he wrote. “We will be building on a strong existing foundation and the sky is the limit.”

An outside perspective

Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst Garrett Holland wrote in a research note that Bozeman brings more perspective as a transportation industry outsider, which is not inherently a bad thing.

“Investors are anxious to see better volume growth and a scalable tech platform amidst disruption in the brokerage industry,” he added. “We look forward to hearing Bozeman’s strategy for the company, but investors likely need more patience to endure ongoing normalization in results and to await a timeline for bolder change.

C.H. Robinson’s first quarter gross profits were down 24.7% annually to $678.3 million, and income from operations fell 53.4% to $161.0 million.

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