8 executive moves that will impact air cargo in 2019

Flexport expands, matures with three management additions

In the last year, online forwarding company Flexport has been one of the fastest-growing businesses in the logistics industry, doubling its staff to more than 1,000 from 2017 to 2018. In November, it continued this maturation process with three executive hires – Sudhanshu Priyadarshi, Huey Lin and Jeff Thomas – who all specialize in handling corporate growth rather than forwarding.

Priyadarshi, former vice president of finance for U.S. e-commerce at Walmart, will head Flexport’s finance team. Previously, he was global COO of the Cipla pharmaceutical operation, and has more than 20 years’ experience in e-commerce, retail, pharma and consumer goods across the U.S., Asia and Australia.

Lin will take over as president of Flexport’s Asia region. She joins from financial technology company, Affirm, where she was chief operating officer. Prior to that, she helmed the China and Asia-Pacific operations for PayPal. Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen said Lin “will be instrumental in helping Flexport expand its services along the critical trans-Pacific eastbound trade route, one of Flexport’s largest and most critical trade routes.”

Meanwhile, Thomas is set to become Flexport’s chief marketing officer, arriving from Periscope Data, an analytics and business intelligence platform. Thomas has more than 20 years’ experience at various tech companies, including Salesforce.

With the new hires, Flexport now has nine global officers and has expanded its services to include trade finance, insurance and customs brokerage. And, according to the careers page on its website, the hiring is expected to continue at a brisk pace in 2019.