Rico Back
Rico Back | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1954 (age 69–70) Hamburg, Germany |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Title | Former CEO, Royal Mail |
| Term | June 2018 – May 2020 |
| Predecessor | Moya Greene |
| Successor | Stuart Simpson (interim) |
| Spouse | Married |
| Children | 4 |
Rico Back (born 1954) is a German businessman. He is a founding member and former CEO of German Parcel (now GLS Group). He was also the CEO of Royal Mail from 2018 to 2020.[1][2]
Early life
[edit]Rico Back was born in 1954 in Hamburg, Germany.[3]
Career
[edit]In 1989, Back was a founding member and managing director of German Parcel, a European-wide parcel logistics firm. In 1999 Back led the sale of German Parcel to Royal Mail, subsequently rebranded as GLS.[4] The company is now one of the largest ground-based deferred parcel networks in Europe.[5] Its revenues grew from £1 billion in 2002 to £3 billion in 2019.[6] It contributed 64% of Royal Mail Group's adjusted operating profit from 30% of group revenues.[7] In 2019 the division was estimated to be worth £2 billion based on an operating profit of £180 million.[8]
Back served as the CEO of GLS for 18 years before taking over as Royal Mail Group CEO in 2018.[9] As CEO of Royal Mail Parcels (2016 to 2018), Back was responsible for all international activities as well as the national parcel business.[2] [3] He succeeded Moya Greene as Royal Mail CEO when she retired in June 2018. He received the same £790,000 pay and benefits package as Greene, plus a possible £1.3 million bonus and a £6 million golden hello; his personal taxes were paid in and to the UK.[10]
During his tenure, UK parcel volume growth reached a four-year peak in 2018 and Royal Mail's share of the UK parcel market grew to 53% by volume by March 2018, driven by winning business from online retailers.[11] In its 2019 full-year results, a year into Back's tenure as CEO, Royal Mail announced a five-year turnaround plan focused on expanding the company's parcels business internationally, addressing the growth in online deliveries. As part of the plan, Royal Mail pledged to invest a further £1.8 billion in its UK postal service.[12]
On 15 May 2020, Back resigned as CEO of Royal Mail Group, with Keith Williams taking immediate control before being replaced as interim CEO by Stuart Simpson.[13][14] His departure came as Royal Mail experienced a rise in parcel volumes and a downturn in letter volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's revenues annual revenues in April 2020 had fallen by £22 million against the previous year.
In 2020, Back founded SKR and Back Enterprises, investment and consulting companies for investors, board members and executives.[15] In 2021, he also took on the position of the Chairman of the Board of Tiger Asset Management AG, based in Switzerland.[16]
Personal life
[edit]Back and his family live in an apartment overlooking Lake Zurich,[17] Switzerland, where they have been resident since 2007 and where he is legally domiciled.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "Rico Back to head Royal Mail". Logistics Manager. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
- ^ "Login - DVZ". www.dvz.de. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ "Login - DVZ". www.dvz.de. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ "Who is Rico Back, the incoming Royal Mail CEO?". Tamebay. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
- ^ Gordona, Michael (2018-09-03). "Royal Mail buys Canadian company for £213 million". Investor Times. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
- ^ "Royal mail share price forecast". Capital.com.
- ^ "Royal mail profits dive jobs cut shares slump". www.ii.co.uk.
- ^ "These five uk value stocks could offer potential long term gain". TrustNet.com. 10 June 2020.
- ^ "Rico Back to head Royal Mail". Logistics Manager. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- ^ Topham, Gwyn (20 April 2018). "Moya Greene to step down as Royal Mail's chief executive". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "Royal Mail plc Annual Report and Financial Statements 2017-18" (PDF). 2017.
- ^ Hussain, Shashwat Awasthi, Noor Zainab (2019-05-22). "Royal Mail puts parcels at heart of growth plan". Reuters. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Gordona, Michael (2018-09-03). "Royal Mail buys Canadian company for £213 million". Investor Times. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- ^ Bow, Michael (15 May 2020). "Royal Mail chief executive Rico Back in shock exit from postal giant". Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ "SKR: Rico Back holt sich Verstärkung". DVZ News (in German). 2022-06-07. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ^ "Former Royal Mail CEO Rico Back joins Tiger Asset Management as chairman". Reuters. 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ^ Collingridge, John. "Will a strike cancel Christmas for Royal Mail's boss, Rico Back?".
- ^ "MOYA GREENE TO RETIRE FROM ROYAL MAIL GROUP IN SEPTEMBER 2018. RICO BACK WILL BE SUCCESSOR". www.royalmailgroup.com. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
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