Geodis has appointed long-time executive Eric Gerbi as EVP of Global Freight Forwarding, succeeding Henri Le Gouis after 20 months. Gerbi joined Geodis in 2011 and most recently served as CFO of the forwarding division since 2024. His promotion reflects a broader industry shift toward leaders with integrated supply chain and financial expertise amid volatile air and ocean markets. The move coincides with tightening EU regulatory timelines—including CSDDD implementation starting in 2027—and intensified pressure on forwarding margins, with air cargo yields down 12% YoY in May 2026.
According to theloadstar.com, Geodis has appointed Eric Gerbi as Executive Vice President of its Global Freight Forwarding division, effective immediately.
Internal promotion amid market volatility
Eric Gerbi joins the Geodis executive board in his new role after serving as CFO of the Global Freight Forwarding division since 2024. He replaces Henri Le Gouis, who held the position for just 20 months before departing. According to Loadstar Premium, Henri Le Gouis is returning to Ceva Logistics as Senior Vice President of Air & Ocean.
Gerbi’s promotion reflects Geodis’ strategic emphasis on internal leadership continuity during a period of sustained pressure across air and ocean freight markets. The appointment comes as forwarders face persistent margin compression, shifting trade lanes—including ongoing Red Sea disruptions and Panama Canal drought-related delays—and heightened demand for integrated, tech-enabled solutions. Gerbi brings more than a decade of cross-functional experience within Geodis, having previously led its supply chain optimisation business and served as Deputy EVP with responsibility for IT, HR, customer solutions, and key account management.
Deep operational roots and career trajectory
Eric Gerbi joined Geodis in 2011, following roles at Upply, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, and Saint-Gobain. His background combines finance discipline with hands-on logistics execution—first in contract logistics and supply chain operations, then in forwarding finance and strategy. This dual fluency positions him to address structural challenges facing global forwarders: rising compliance complexity, cost volatility in fuel and chassis, and the need to scale digital visibility tools without eroding service reliability.
His elevation follows a broader industry trend toward promoting leaders with integrated supply chain expertise—not just forwarding specialists. For example, DHL appointed a former head of its Supply Chain division to lead its Global Forwarding unit in 2023, while Maersk consolidated its logistics and forwarding functions under a single EVP in Q4 2025. These moves signal growing recognition that forwarders must operate as embedded supply chain partners—not transactional cargo movers—to retain enterprise clients.
Operational context for forwarding leadership
The freight forwarding sector remains under acute financial strain: global air cargo yields fell 12% year-on-year in May 2026, and ocean spot rates on key Asia–Europe lanes remain 37% below 2022 peaks despite recent upticks, according to Xeneta data cited in recent Loadstar reporting. At the same time, regulatory pressure is intensifying—EU’s CSDDD implementation deadlines begin in 2027, requiring forwarders to map and audit Tier 2–4 suppliers across multimodal networks.
For supply chain professionals, Gerbi’s appointment signals that financial acumen and systems integration capability are now non-negotiable competencies in forwarding leadership. His prior oversight of IT and customer solutions suggests Geodis will prioritize interoperability between its forwarding TMS and its contract logistics WMS—potentially accelerating adoption of shared data models like the Digital Container Shipping Association’s (DCSA) eBL and API standards. That focus aligns with GXO’s recent win supporting Amazon’s LTL network expansion and DHL’s push to deploy AI-powered predictive capacity planning in APAC distribution centres launched in Q2 2026.
Source: The Loadstar
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
