GEFCO re-organises air and sea division

GEFCO’s air and sea business has announced leadership changes and a reorganisation to boost the industry, automotive and life science/healthcare sectors.

Paul-Henri Fréret, executive vice president, has been leading GEFCO’s Air & Sea division since February. With broad experience at GEFCO, Fréret has managed all areas of the business in Asia and Latin America in addition to Groupe PSA operations at Group headquarters.

He has also held global corporate management functions at GEFCO in warehouse logistics and road transport.

In May, Cyril Lefebvre was promoted from managing director of French operations to global sales and marketing director for the air and sea division.

Lefebvre has in-depth experience in air and sea operations at GEFCO and other freight forwarding companies. He will shape and drive the division’s commercial and marketing strategy worldwide. 

Serge Kisselevsky is now industry market line manager, while Adrian Draghici is market line manager for automotive. Karin Van-Den Brekel will continue to lead the life science and healthcare business, a role she has occupied since 2019. 

These areas will be strongly supported by a new trade lane manager, Amer Benouda and tender centre manager, Romain Bérard.

Fréret commented: “I am very pleased to be leading the organisation in this new phase of growth. With presence in 116 countries, our new organisational structure is focused on meeting customer needs in all freight forwarding areas. We will deploy our robust Air & Sea expertise in synergy with other GEFCO divisions to offer unique integrated solutions.”

Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, GEFCO’s air and sea division has deployed its time critical solutions to help keep customers’ supply chains moving.

For two major European automotive players, GEFCO handled shipments of 750 tons of key automotive spare parts from China to France, including turbo compressors, pistons, control panels and doors in eight chartered flights to prevent production stoppages.

For a worldwide medical diagnostics leader, GEFCO also transported 30 tons of medical equipment, including COVID-19 testing kits, from France to destinations in Algeria, Tunisia and the Antilles to help hospitals and private laboratories manage increased demand.

GEFCO transported around 1,000 medical beds weekly to destinations across Europe for a leading European manufacturer of medical devices and surgical equipment to cope with particularly high demand for medical beds and devices during the COVID-19 crisis.