UPS has appointed Jim Barber, a 26-year UPS veteran, its new president of the UPS Europe Region with responsibility for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Barber, 51, most recently served as the chief operations officer of the Europe Region and succeeds the retiring Wolfgang Flick as the region’s president. Barber will be responsible for all UPS package, cargo and logistics operations in 120 countries and territories with more than 40,000 employees.
“Throughout his career with UPS, Jim has excelled in leadership positions in both the United States and Europe, and we’re confident that he’s going to make a tremendous impact on our Europe Region,” says Dan Brutto, president, UPS International. “The Europe Region represents roughly half of UPS’s international revenue, so this is a critical assignment and one that’s very important to the future of UPS.”
Barber joined UPS in 1985 as a delivery driver in the United States in Georgia, then was promoted into management later that same year and began moving through a series of accounting and billing positions. In 1993, he was promoted to controller of the West New York District in Buffalo, N.Y., and then transferred to a similar position with the North Illinois District before being promoted again in 1998 to controller coordinator of the West Region.
In 2000, Barber transferred to UPS’s global headquarters in Atlanta to join the Mergers and Acquisitions Group, then became controller of the Southeast Region before assuming the post of Europe Region Controller in Brussels in 2004. In January 2006, Barber was promoted to the post of president of the U.K. and Ireland District, based in London, and then moved to his current post as region chief operations officer in 2010, based in Brussels.
Flick is retiring after 35 years of service to UPS, including the last 7.5 years as president of the Europe Region. He is a “Day One” employee of UPS’s first expansion beyond North America, when the company launched its German operation in 1976. Flick originally joined the company as a center supervisor in Giessen, Germany, then moved through a series of positions of increasing responsibility.
By 1987, Flick had been promoted to the post of air manager for the Europe Region, and then became the district manager of the Cologne Air / International District in 1991. In 1995, he became the president of the Utah-Idaho District in the United States, and then became the president of the South Europe District. In 2001, Flick became the president of the Germany District and in 2004 was promoted to president of the Europe Region.
“Wolfgang deserves the credit for initially establishing UPS’s European air network, designing and opening the Cologne air hub and putting together the pieces of that air operation,” Brutto says. “His vision and leadership also were instrumental in successfully transforming our European network into an integrated supply chain service provider.”
