United Parcel Service has unveiled a new operating model and leadership structure designed to make better use of its global network and accelerate profit growth, marking another significant step in its transformation from a traditional small-package carrier into a more integrated global logistics provider.
The changes, announced Monday afternoon, come at a pivotal moment for UPS. The company has largely completed the major phase-out of lower-margin Amazon business and the downsizing of its domestic parcel network, with those efforts substantially finalized by the end of June.
Under its new organizational approach, UPS plans to standardize processes and procedures across its global operations while preserving the flexibility needed to respond to the specific requirements of local markets. The company says the objective is to provide customers with greater consistency, agility and scale as it moves away from its traditional identity as primarily a small-package carrier and strengthens its position as an integrated logistics provider.
The strategic shift follows a period of stagnation in parcel volumes. After the exceptional surge in e-commerce generated by the Covid-era boom began to normalize, UPS also faced growing pressure from low-cost delivery competitors entering the market.
The company has repeatedly emphasized over the past two years that it intends to reduce its dependence on last-mile delivery for e-commerce packages and instead concentrate on higher-value and premium market segments. These include healthcare, industrial and automotive logistics, along with services aimed at small and medium-sized businesses. The latest reorganization now provides clearer evidence of the direction UPS intends to take.
Nando Cesarone moves into a global leadership role
As part of the restructuring, UPS has appointed Nando Cesarone as executive vice president and chief global operations officer.
In his new position, Cesarone will oversee the company’s global air network and airport gateways, surface transportation, building and engineering operations, Intelligent Network of the Future initiatives, automotive operations and sustainability functions.
He previously served as president of UPS’s U.S. operations, making his appointment a significant expansion of his responsibilities as the company places greater emphasis on coordinating its worldwide logistics network.
Matt Guffey, meanwhile, has been named chief U.S. domestic officer. He will oversee UPS’s American businesses, including small package operations, Roadie same-day delivery, Happy Returns, The UPS Stores and Mail Innovations, as well as the company’s delivery partnership with the U.S. Postal Service.
Guffey previously served as UPS’s chief commercial and strategy officer.
A new global commercial strategy position
UPS is also creating the position of chief global commercial strategy officer, a role that will be responsible for global strategy, marketing and communications, product management and pricing.
The company has launched a search to fill the newly created position, highlighting the importance UPS is placing on aligning its commercial strategy with its increasingly global and integrated logistics ambitions.
Kate Gutmann to retire after 37 years with UPS
The leadership changes also include the departure of Kate Gutmann, president of international, healthcare and supply chain solutions, who will retire for personal family reasons after a 37-year career with UPS.
During the past six years, Gutmann played a central role in expanding UPS’s presence in the upper tiers of healthcare logistics. That business has now grown into a nearly $12 billion operation for the company.
She also helped guide UPS’s international business through a period marked by the rise of U.S. protectionism, while the company continued to navigate increasingly complex global trade and supply chain conditions.
Amazon volume reduced by 50%
UPS’s transformation has already involved substantial operational changes.
Over an 18-month period, the company eliminated 50% of its Amazon volume, representing approximately 2 million packages per day, after determining that the business was no longer economically viable to handle.
At the same time, UPS closed 150 parcel sorting centers and cut 30,000 jobs as part of the broader restructuring and downsizing of its domestic parcel network.
The scale of those decisions underscores how dramatically UPS is reshaping its business model as it seeks to prioritize profitability and higher-value logistics opportunities over sheer package volume.
UPS shares remain broadly flat for the year
Despite the sweeping transformation underway, UPS shares have remained essentially flat since the beginning of the year.
The stock closed Monday at $104.23 per share. That figure remains well below the approximately $127 per share recorded two years ago and significantly below the $169 per share level reached on August 31, 2023.
For UPS, the new organizational structure represents more than a leadership reshuffle. It is a further indication that the company is accelerating its transition toward a business increasingly centered on global logistics, premium services and higher-value supply chain segments rather than traditional parcel delivery alone.
