India’s Blue Dart Express names Balfour Manuel as chief executive

India’s Blue Dart Express, part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group, has named Balfour Manuel as chief executive to “chart the company’s next chapter of growth”.
Manuel, who has been with the Mumbai-headquartered company for 35 years, takes on the new role after being senior vice president in charge of Blue Dart’s business-to-business customers.
Prior to this, Manuel also held a key general management position where he was responsible for the growth and development of Blue Dart’s business in the Western region in India.
Manuel takes over from Anil Khanna, who is leaving the organization after more than 12 years in the role. Khanna will also become an additional non-executive director of the company.
During the year ending March 2018, Blue Dart Express handled a total of more than 196m domestic shipments, 920,000 international shipments and over 697,000 tonnes of documents and parcels in India and worldwide.
Said a Blue Dart spokesperson: “Under Khanna, Blue Dart broadened its strategic focus from being an air express company to a full-fledged logistics organization offering a wide range of products and services, as well as industry specific solutions in air and ground express segments.
“He will be actively involved in supporting Manuel to ensure that Blue Dart operates smoothly during the transition phase."
Blue Dart Express Chairman Sharad Upasani said: “Manuel is a seasoned logistics professional, deeply committed and passionate about Blue Dart. He has spent his career building the company to where it is today, and has proven his capabilities in leading his team to achieve exceptional business results.
“We are confident Manuel will provide the continued leadership in keeping with the Blue Dart culture, ensuring we keep pace with the rapidly growing market.”
Manuel said of his appointment: “I have spent my career in Blue Dart and have witnessed tremendous transformation in the past 35 years as the company grew from strength to strength, in tandem with India’s economy.
“India makes up some 15% of global growth, and Blue Dart’s market leading position serves us well in this fast-evolving landscape to help our customers tap opportunities.”