Dive Brief:
- XPO Logistics hired a chief accounting officer for its brokerage, RXO, rounding out the business’s C-suite ahead of its Nov. 1 spinoff from the LTL carrier, the company announced Friday.
- Jason Kerr, a longtime certified public accountant, led accounting, reporting and compliance functions for BWX Technologies and was instrumental in the company’s 2015 spinoff from The Babcock & Wilcox Co., according to the release.
- Kerr’s hire is effective immediately. In advance of the split, he is now chief accounting officer for XPO’s North American transportation division and reports to Jamie Harris, the incoming RXO CFO and the division’s CFO.
Dive Insight:
For RXO’s final C-suite hire, XPO turned to an accounting veteran who has served as senior manager at Deloitte and senior auditor with Arthur Andersen. But Kerr’s dozen years at BWX Technologies — and, in particular, his role in its spinoff from its legacy enterprise — was just as likely what caught XPO’s eye.
Kerr’s addition to RXO readies the business for the spinoff “with a strong C-suite in place,” Drew Wilkerson, XPO president of North American transportation and the brokerage’s incoming CEO, said in a statement.
“Our brokerage platform has a long track record of industry leadership as part of XPO, and now we’re positioned to create significantly more value for our customers, employees and shareholders,” Wilkerson said.
In a statement, Harris touted Kerr’s “history of helping to bolster shareholder value” and “deep analytical capabilities.” Kerr will contribute to a “robust financial organization in place to support RXO in unlocking its full potential as an independent brokered transportation leader,” Harris said.
The hire completes a C-suite buildout for RXO that has been in progress for much of this year.
Wilkerson was named CEO in May, and XPO announced in September that Harris would be CFO, Heidi Ratti would be chief human resources officer, and Jared Weisfeld would be chief strategy officer, tasked with liaising with investors and analyzing future growth opportunities.
With the Nov. 1 spinoff news, the soon-to-be pure-play LTL carrier also announced the hiring of its own CFO last week. Brad Jacobs, longtime XPO CEO, will help oversee the spinoff as non-executive chairman, as incoming CEO Mario Harik takes the helm.
