XPO Logistics CIO Readies for Shift to Chief Executive Role

“Being CEO with a technology background, you’re always looking at every problem that we have, or every opportunity that we have, or every customer relationship that we have, as having technology as part of the answer,” Mr. Harik mentioned, including, “for us in our industry, that’s going to be a competitive edge.”

The logistics sector lately has attracted an inflow of digital freight startups utilizing expertise to streamline the method of connecting truckers with shippers and forcing traditional freight companies, together with XPO, to ramp up tech investments so as to compete.

Avery Vise, a vice chairman of freight analysis agency FTR Transportation Intelligence, mentioned that as new entrants got here on the scene, “There certainly was a big concern of loss of market share, so that has sort of jump-started a lot of that investment.” He added, “It has definitely energized the industry.”

An necessary a part of Mr. Harik’s position as CIO has been executing the blueprints for integrating after which separating the IT capabilities of the corporate’s varied acquisitions and spinoffs. But, he added, he has at all times balanced these priorities with growth-driving improvements.

Those efforts embrace an analytics-driven pricing platform that gives price estimates with much less handbook processing from pricing specialists, a system that estimates what number of hours or employees are wanted on a specific dock at a specific time, and machine-learning algorithms that optimize the variety of stops truck drivers make to improve effectivity.

“When you think of a CIO, usually a lot of times you think, only a technology platform. But I’ve been part of the team that effectively has made decisions in every part of how we operate,” Mr. Harik mentioned.

Mr. Harik was Mr. Jacobs’s third rent in 2011 and has immediately reported to him since.

Speaking of Mr. Harik, Mr. Jacobs mentioned: “He developed the proprietary technology that gives us our competitive edge in the marketplace, and our tech advantage is what’s driven our growth.” Mr. Jacobs added, “Mario’s background will be mission-critical as XPO becomes a tech-focused pure-play LTL company.”

Mr. Harik steps in as the corporate proceeds with plans to break aside a enterprise that since its 2011 founding has grown by means of acquisitions to turn out to be one of many largest freight gamers within the U.S. After spinning off its contract logistics enterprise final 12 months, XPO is now spinning out its brokerage enterprise, leaving the corporate because the pure-play less-than-truckload enterprise that Mr. Harik will finally helm.

The less-than-truckload enterprise works by combining freight masses from a number of clients that might not fill a whole truck on their very own so as to optimize price and sources.

In addition to main the North American less-than-truckload enterprise and his decade as CIO, Mr. Harik additionally spent a 12 months as chief buyer officer of XPO.

Before becoming a member of the supply-chain big, Mr. Harik was CIO at Oakleaf Waste Management and CTO at software program firm Tallan. He acquired a bachelor’s diploma from the American University of Beirut in pc engineering and a grasp’s from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in engineering and data expertise.

Write to Isabelle Bousquette at Isabelle.Bousquette@wsj.com