GXO CEO Malcolm Wilson is retiring in 2025, four years after he became the contract logistics provider’s first chief exec and led it through its spinoff from XPO Logistics.
Wilson, who had initially been the CEO of XPO’s European division ahead of the August 2021 spinoff, will still lead the Greenwich, Conn.-based company during the executive search process to find his successor.
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The expected CEO transition comes as GXO reportedly had been interested in exploring a possible sale of its business. A Bloomberg report late Tuesday ahead of Wilson’s official retirement announcement indicated that the logistics firm is ending the sale process.
In the wake of the official announcement of Wilson’s departure and the Bloomberg report, GXO’s stock dipped more than 12 percent in Wednesday morning trading.
The warehousing provider never publicly confirmed the recent reports of a potential sale, with Wilson swatting away speculation during a November earnings call.
GXO would not comment on the Bloomberg report to Sourcing Journal, but it didn’t appear there was interest from bigger potential acquirers. Logistics giants like Maersk and DHL had both previously confirmed in their own earnings calls that they would not make a bid for GXO.
“Malcolm’s countless contributions to GXO and its legacy parent XPO span nearly a decade. Under his leadership, GXO has added more than $3 billion of revenue and received global recognitions each year for innovation and workplace culture,” said Brad Jacobs, chairman of the GXO board of directors, in a statement. “Our incoming CEO will inherit a best-in-class management team and strong industry positioning, while Malcolm will embark on a well-deserved retirement. I fully support this decision and wish him all the best.”
Wilson’s tenure as CEO was filled with acquisitions as the Nike and now-Levi Strauss & Co. partner sought to expand its business, increasing overall revenue from $7.9 billion in 2021 to $11 billion in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2024.
The logistics company acquired U.K.-based Clipper Logistics for $1.3 billion in Oct. 2022, strengthening the American establishment’s foothold in Europe. Over the past year, only 28 percent of GXO’s revenue came from U.S. customers, down from the 36 percent of sales generated through that market during 2020. In that same time frame, U.K.’s revenue share ballooned from 25 percent to a current 41 percent.