EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — In a pivotal move, global logistics leader C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. has announced that Arun Rajun, who is COO, will transition into the role of chief strategy and innovation officer, effective immediately.
“Innovation is at the heart of Robinson’s competitive differentiation, and I am excited to serve in this role and help ensure that we deliver industry-leading ideas, solutions and expertise while remaining relentlessly focused on continuous improvement,” Rajan said. ”The strategy process is not static. It requires diligent monitoring of internal execution and capabilities and the constantly evolving external landscape to take advantage of opportunities. This organizational evolution is the start of something really powerful for the future of Robinson and the industry.”
Rajan’s focus will be to drive strategy and foster innovation across the company while also working closely with the Chief Financial Officer to deliver near-term and long-term enterprise strategic planning, development, and deployment across C.H. Robinson.
“With a single-threaded leader at the helm of strategy and innovation, we are doubling down on efforts already underway to bring industry-leading products, technology, solutions, and ways of working to the global logistics marketplace,” said Dave Bozeman, President and CEO of C.H. Robinson. “This new role is a testament to C.H. Robinson’s unwavering commitment to innovation, discipline and profitable growth, and we are confident it will help enable strategic outcomes to better serve our customers and carriers.”
In partnership with the senior leadership team, the Rajun will help drive long-term, sustainable and profitable growth by maximizing the strategic opportunities of Robinson’s leadership position in the industry in support of our customers, carriers and employees. Rajun will lead the strategy process and operating mechanisms to track progress and implementation of strategic initiatives against objectives as well as lead research and analysis to inform major company decisions related to portfolio, mergers and acquisitions and organizational transformation.
According to a statement released by C.H. Robinson, the transition marks a critical point in the company’s journey as it continues to drive operational excellence and strategic vision to become fit, fast and focused. As C.H. Robinson implements its new operating model that is infusing tighter accountability, discipline and collaboration across divisions as One Robinson, it is ready for a chief strategy and innovation officer to help advance the operating model while enabling strategic outcomes at an even faster rate. The position of COO will not be backfilled.
“The COO role has been instrumental in laying the foundation for Robinson’s success, driving tight alignment between business teams and digital investments, and delivering measurable value toward business growth and productivity improvements,” Bozeman said. “This evolution underscores the effectiveness of the company’s collective efforts, and the logical next step is to transition some of these digitally-oriented operating structures into the core operation and turn Arun’s focus to accelerating strategy and innovation to drive the company and the industry forward.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
