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DHL Global Forwarding announced three key appointments in Asia Pacific with the upcoming retirement of Kelvin Leung and Charles Kauffman
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These include Karsten Michaelis as president/representative director of DHL Global Forwarding Japan; Edwin Pinto as managing director for DHL Global Forwarding India; and Praveen Gregory as senior vice president of ocean freight, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific.
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Michaelis’ appointment is effective July 1 while Pinto and Gregory will take over on September 1
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Kaufmann will continue as CEO of DHL Global Forwarding North Asia South Pacific until yearend
DHL Global Forwarding has announced three key appointments in Asia Pacific with the upcoming retirement of Kelvin Leung and Charles Kauffman.
New appointments include Karsten Michaelis as president/ representative director of DHL Global Forwarding Japan; Edwin Pinto as managing director for DHL Global Forwarding India; and Praveen Gregory as senior vice president of ocean freight, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific.
Leung was chief executive officer of DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific until June 2023. He was replaced by Niki Frank as of July 1, 2023.
Kaufmann, who was CEO of DHL Global Forwarding North Asia South Pacific, will step down from his role after more than five decades of service for the group. He will hand over the country responsibility for Japan to his successor, Michaelis, while continuing to look after the cluster until the end of the year.
Michaelis will assume his new role as president/ representative director of DHL Global Forwarding Japan effective July 1, 2023. In his new role, Karsten will be based in Japan and report to Kaufmann.
Michaelis has had an extensive career spanning over two decades in the logistics sector. He has been based primarily in the Asia Pacific region, in locations such as Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Australia and Singapore. Since joining the group in 2011, Karsten took on several managerial roles for Ocean Freight in Asia Pacific, including his most recent position as SVP, Ocean Freight DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific, in 2017.
Pinto, who is currently head of sales & marketing of DHL Global Forwarding Thailand and Indochina, has been appointed as the managing director for DHL Global Forwarding India. Pinto will assume his new role on September 1, 2023, and he will report to DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific CEO Niki Frank. Pinto will be based in India.
Pinto joined DHL in 2001 in India and has since worked in several management roles across DHL Global Forwarding. Working for the automotive sector, he gained experience across various positions until being announced sector director for the South Asia Pacific and Africa region in 2010. As of 2012, he was promoted to head of Key Account Management in India. Pinto relocated to Thailand in 2014, working as director commercial & customer program management, before taking on his current role in 2021.
Gregory, currently vice president for Order Management Solutions Asia Pacific at DHL Global Forwarding, will assume the position of SVP Ocean Freight DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific, effective September 1, 2023. In his new role, Gregory will be based in Singapore and report directly to Frank, with a dotted line to Casper Ellerbaek, executive vice president of DHL Global Forwarding Global Ocean Freight.
Prior to joining DHL Group in Dubai Ocean Freight Operations in 2008, Gregory had worked for Maersk. In 2010, he relocated to Germany and held several roles in Market Intelligence & Strategy and Product Development. He moved to Hong Kong in 2018 to take on regional management roles in Ocean Commercial Center and Account Management ISC. In 2022, he assumed his current position as vice president for Order Management Solutions Asia Pacific.
