B2B veteran named CFO of XPO Logistics’ spin-off

Dive Brief:

Veteran CFO Jamie Harris has been named CFO of RXO, the planned spinoff of freight transportation services company XPO Logistics, effective Sept. 26, according to an XPO release.
Harris, most recently CFO at global manufacturer SPX Technologies, will join XPO as CFO of the North American transportation division and will lead its finance operations once the separation is complete, XPO said. He will report to Drew Wilkerson, currently president of transportation at XPO, who is set to become the CEO of RXO.
“In Jamie, we have a veteran CFO who will align our financial strategy with our rapid growth,” Wilkerson said in a statement. “I’m extremely pleased with the strong leadership team we’ve created to move our brokerage business toward the planned spin-off as a separate public company.”

Dive Insight:

The planned separation transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The deal will create two separate publicly traded companies and RXO will be the third-largest provider of domestic and cross-border less-than-truckload (LTL) freight shipping.

The spin-off was approved by a board of directors back in March after a “thorough examination of business alternatives,” the company said. The creation of RXO is intended to separate the company’s tech-enabled brokered transportation services from its LTL business in North America.

Harris has been with SPX Technologies since August 2020. Prior to that role he served as both the CFO and interim CEO of Elevate Textiles which has global brands like Burlington, Cone Denim and American & Efird, according to his LinkedIn account. Harris has 35 years of experience in the business-to-business (B2B) sector, including two decades in public companies.

"XPO has a proven track record of outperformance in the brokerage industry. From day one at RXO, we'll have a strong balance sheet with enormous opportunities for growth. I'm excited to join Drew Wilkerson and the rest of the experienced leadership team that RXO is building,” Harris wrote in an emailed response to a request for comment.

As part of the series of senior executive appointments to the new RXO entity, David Murray – former vice president of corporate finance of the IAC Group – has been announced as vice president, treasurer and financial shared services, effective immediately, and will continue to lead financial shared services while serving as treasurer of RXO once the spin-off is complete.

XPO previously outlined a succession plan following its planned spinoff in the fourth quarter which includes Mario Harik, former chief information officer and chief customer officer, taking the role of CEO of XPO from Brad Jacobs. Jacobs will remain with XPO as executive chairman.