July 20 (Reuters) - Royal Mail's parent group International Distributions Services (IDS) appointed Martin Seidenberg, CEO of the group's international parcels network, as its new group CEO on Thursday.
Seidenberg, who has been CEO of GLS since June 2020, under a revised structure will lead the IDS group, which houses UK postal brand Royal Mail and international business GLS, and "set its strategic direction", the company said.
"We will remain focused on quality, profitable growth and margin development to thrive in the current challenging macro economic environment," he said in a statement.
The 50-year old German national, who previously spent 15 years at Deutsche Post DHL, joined GLS in 2015 and has been a member of the board since April 2021.
Seidenberg will be tasked with mending relationships with labour union CWU and driving the group and the loss-making UK business back to profitability.
He will be appointing CEOs for the two units - its UK business Royal Mail and GLS - in due course, the company said.
Royal Mail made a 1 billion pound loss last year, hit by sliding revenues and 18 days of strikes by its postal staff, but workers earlier this month accepted a pay deal, helping the group draw a line under the pay dispute.
Seidenberg said Royal Mail has "plenty of opportunity ahead" given its brand and scale. "But we must seize it," he added.
Simon Thompson, the current CEO of Royal Mail announced his resignation earlier this year after months of labour strife.
In a separate statement, IDS kept its outlook unchanged and said it was still targeting an adjusted operating profit for the group this financial year.
Royal Mail's total revenue fell 4% in the first quarter, while GLS clocked revenue growth of 7.4%.
Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Janane Venkatraman and Sonali Paul
Source: Reuters