Dive Brief:
- Flexport CEO Dave Clark resigned from his position Wednesday after one year with the freight forwarder, with founder and executive chairman Ryan Petersen returning to the role, the company said in an emailed statement.
- “Today, Ryan and I discussed his desire to return to focusing on growth in the core freight business,” Clark said on X Wednesday. "In light of that, I feel that he is best suited to lead the company in that direction.”
- Clark joined Flexport in September 2022 after helping build Amazon’s robust fulfillment network as its global consumer chief. He started as co-CEO of Flexport with Petersen before fully taking over the position in March.
Dive Insight:
Founded in 2013, Flexport historically focused on helping shippers move their international freight to a destination port. But with Clark at the helm, it expanded its e-commerce fulfillment and last mile delivery capabilities through the acquisition of Shopify’s logistics arm, a deal it completed in June.
When Flexport announced the acquisition, Clark called it “the last piece of the puzzle” to help businesses move their goods from a manufacturer’s floor to a customer’s door. The deal included Deliverr, a fulfillment and order storage provider that uses a third-party warehouse network and a handful of warehouses Shopify Logistics owned and managed.
Flexport built off that purchase by hiring former Amazon and Uber Freight executive Bill Driegert to establish a truck brokerage operation, The Wall Street Journal reported in May, another way Clark aimed to extend the company’s services.
"I am very proud of the vision we agreed on and we have established an operating model and structure to realize that vision," Clark said Wednesday.
But Clark and Petersen's vision for Flexport's future apparently diverged.
“Founders have the right to change their mind," Clark said. "I came to Flexport to do big things and that's where I believe we were headed."
Flexport said it had nothing further to share on Clark’s departure.
With Clark out of the picture and the focus now back on the core freight business, Flexport could look to sell fulfillment assets it acquired from Shopify, experts say.
"Dave Clark and Flexport were never a fit," Rick Watson, CEO and founder of RMW Commerce Consulting, said in a LinkedIn post. "A virtual logistics business meets a logistics infrastructure builder."
