Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Pacer Chair/CEO Abruptly Resigns

Logistics service provider Pacer International has announced that chairman and CEO Michael Uremovich will retire, effective at the close of business Tuesday. No reason was given for the departure.

Daniel Avramovich, who has served as the Concord, California-based firm's COO since June, will succeed Uremovich as CEO. Avramovich will also be appointed as a director and chairman of the Pacer board of directors.

“Dan Avramovich has not only proven to be an effective leader for Pacer, he has a clear vision and plan for Pacer’s future that has been embraced by our board of directors and leadership team,” said the outgoing Uremovich in a release.

Uremovich was appointed chairman and CEO of Pacer in November 2003, with executive responsibility for all Pacer International business units. He joined Pacer as Vice Chairman in October of 2003 after serving as a consultant to the company for several years. Immediately prior to joining Pacer, he was a principal owner of Manalytics International, a San Francisco-based consulting firm. He served as Vice President of Marketing for Southern Pacific Transportation and President of TSSI, SP's logistics operating company during the early to mid-1990s.

During the 1980s, Mr. Uremovich held a number of senior executive positions at American President Companies in both domestic and international operations, including Senior Vice President Marketing, Vice President Pricing, and Vice President Strategic Planning. In his consulting career, he has been the Managing Director of the Worldwide Transportation practice for Coopers & Lybrand LLC, and a Principal at Booz Allen and Hamilton.

The incoming Avramovich joined Pacer in 2008 after more than 25 years of senior leadership with some of the transportation and logistics industry experts, including most recently Kansas City Southern and Exel Logistics.