Dave Clark to Join Flexport as Chief Executive Officer

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Jun 08, 2022, 10:05 ET

Founder Ryan Petersen Will Assume New Role as Executive Chairman in March 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexport, the technology platform for global logistics, today announced that Dave Clark will become CEO and join the company's board of directors on September 1, 2022. Ryan Petersen, Flexport's founder and current CEO, will serve as co-CEO for six months after Clark's appointment to ensure a smooth transition. In March 2023, Petersen will then assume the role of Executive Chairman to focus on the company's long-term vision and strategy.

Dave Clark, incoming Flexport Chief Executive Officer

Clark brings more than two decades of global commerce and logistics leadership experience. Currently serving as CEO Worldwide Consumer at Amazon, he joined Amazon in 1999 and helped transform the company from an online bookstore to one of the benchmarks in technological innovation and supply chain management.

"The opportunity for Flexport grows bigger every day. The right leader will unlock our full potential by building the most productive and efficient operation. Over the last two decades, Dave helped scale Amazon into the technology and supply chain juggernaut it is today. He is a builder and an entrepreneur at heart, with the leadership experience that will shepherd Flexport into the most exciting phase of our journey," said Ryan Petersen, founder and CEO of Flexport. "In my new role as Executive Chairman, I will focus on what I do best: setting Flexport's long-term vision and strategy to leverage technology to solve the most pressing problems in global commerce."

"Ryan founded Flexport with the mission to make global trade easy for everyone. Under his leadership over the last nine years, Flexport has grown from a digital freight forwarder to a leading technology platform for global trade," said Dave Clark. "The logistics market is a multi-trillion dollar opportunity, and Flexport is just getting started advancing the global supply chain for the benefit of all. I am excited to partner with the team to architect and build a technology-powered future enabling the transparent and seamless movement of goods from raw material to end consumers anywhere in the world."

Bob Swan, Operating Partner at Andreessen Horowitz added: "Ryan has done the unimaginable since founding Flexport nine years ago. He has built a global technology platform disrupting one of the most complex industries, before most of us realized the critical role supply chain plays in our global economy. I believe that Dave, as one of the world's best operators at scale, is exactly the right person to collaborate with Ryan in leading the company into the future. I am confident in their partnership and excited to see how Flexport will transform the global logistics industry in the coming years."

During his 23-year tenure at Amazon, Clark held a variety of senior leadership positions prior to becoming the CEO of its Worldwide Consumer division, including Senior Vice President Worldwide Operations, Vice President Global Customer Fulfillment, and Vice President North America Operations. Clark graduated with an MBA from the University of Tennessee and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Auburn University.

Flexport was founded in 2003 with the mission of making global trade easy for everyone. In 2021, the company recorded $3.3 billion in revenue, more than doubling its previous annual revenue, and had its first EBIT positive year. It now has nearly 3500 employees across 23 offices worldwide. In February 2022, Flexport raised $935 million in a Series E investment round led by Andreessen Horowitz and MSD Partners with continued support from DST Global and Founders Fund. The investment brought Flexport's post-money valuation to over $8 billion.

About Flexport
We believe trade can move the human race forward. That's why it's our mission to make global trade easy for everyone. Flexport is the platform for global logistics—empowering buyers, sellers and their logistics partners with the technology and services to grow and innovate. Companies of all sizes—from emerging brands to Fortune 500s—used Flexport technology to move nearly $19B of merchandise across 112 countries in 2021. In 2022, Flexport was named #1 on CNBC's Disruptor 50 List as well as one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies.

SOURCE Flexport, Inc.