The fast growing regional parcel delivery company LaserShip is keeping its foot on the gas, announcing Friday that it had hired a supply chain executive from The Home Depot as its new CEO just two weeks after it acquired fellow last-mile delivery provider OnTrac.
Vienna, Virginia-based LaserShip said it had recruited Mark Holifield to step over from his current duties as The Home Depot’s executive vice president of supply chain & product development, and succeed its interim CEO Mike Roth beginning November 8.
Earlier in October, LaserShip had unveiled its plan to buy Chandler, Arizona-based OnTrac, combining forces to form what they describe as “the first coast-to-coast partner of choice for last-mile e-commerce deliveries.” That deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, and the two firms will begin linking their networks in 2022.
The acquisition was announced by LaserShip’s private equity co-owner, American Securities, which controls the delivery firm alongside its investment partner, Greenbriar Equity Group.
According to American Securities, Holifield will now be charged with leading LaserShip’s merger with the other firm. “We are pleased to welcome Mark as CEO of LaserShip,” Will Manuel, chairman of the board of LaserShip and a managing director of American Securities, said in a release. “I have known Mark for more than a decade and he is an exceptional leader with a consistent track record of success. His deep expertise in supply chain and clear customer mindset will ensure our continued commitment to world class service. In addition, Mark’s experience building large-scale networks will enable our successful combination with OnTrac as we look to merge the companies’ networks to provide expanded customer service in 2022. We are confident that the combined LaserShip/OnTrac network will continue to grow and prosper under Mark’s leadership.”
At the same time, Holifield will have his hands full managing LaserShip’s efforts to ride the wave of the pandemic-fueled e-commerce boom that has funneled massive numbers of parcels into logistics channels nationwide, from warehouses to trucking fleets to last-mile delivery.
In a blog post by LaserPost, the firm said their new CEO would help providing delivery solutions for its customers through the coming peak season and into the merger with OnTrac, endeavoring to help retailers achieve fast and reliable delivery. “Since the onset of the pandemic, the e-commerce industry has experienced a whirlwind of unprecedented growth and challenges. Our team at LaserShip has been working tirelessly to help our retail partners overcome these challenges and build flexible, resilient supply chains that meet evolving consumer expectations,” the firm said.
LaserShip had been growing quickly even before its latest merger, in May claiming a parcel delivery territory covering 20 states in the Midwest and Eastern U.S. and a market of over 100 million consumers. Adding OnTrac to that system will bring a complementary e-commerce parcel logistics network operating primarily in the western U.S., combining to cover the entire country, the firms said.
