United Parcel Service, Inc.
Leadership History
7 leaders · 1907 to present
Carol Tomé is the CEO of United Parcel Service, in the role since 2020. The first chief executive was James E. Casey, from 1907.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Dykes | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | 2024 | Present | 2 |
| Carol B. Tomé | Chief Executive Officer | 2020 | Present | 6 |
| David Abney | Former CEO | 2014 | 2020 | 6 |
| D. Scott Davis | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 2008 | 2014 | 6 |
| Michael L. Eskew | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 2002 | 2007 | 5 |
| Jack Rogers | Chief Executive Officer | 1984 | 1989 | 5 |
| James E. Casey | Chief Executive Officer | 1907 | 1962 | 55 |
UPS is a network business: hubs, aircraft, drivers, and sorting equipment are mostly fixed costs, so the mix and density of packages decide profitability. Its current strategy is to carry fewer but more profitable packages and to grow in specialized logistics such as healthcare. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
UPS earns most of its revenue from time-definite package delivery, priced per piece by weight, distance, and speed, plus fuel and other surcharges. It reports three segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain Solutions, which covers freight forwarding, customs brokerage, contract logistics, and healthcare logistics. Because the network's costs are largely fixed, profit depends on route density and on the mix of higher-yield business, small-business, and healthcare shipments versus large e-commerce accounts.
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
2024 – Present
2 years (current)
Dykes manages the incredibly complex, highly aggressive financial restructuring required to protect UPS's profit margins following the massive, historic wage increases conceded to the Teamsters union.
As CFO, he executes absolute financial discipline, heavily driving the massive investments in facility automation to offset skyrocketing labor costs.
Chief Executive Officer
2020 – Present
6 years (current)
Launched the 'better, not bigger' strategy focused on revenue quality, agreed the 2023 Teamsters contract, decided in 2025 to cut Amazon volume by more than half, and led the Andlauer acquisition and large-scale network consolidation.
Shifted UPS from pursuing volume toward higher-yield shipments and specialized logistics such as healthcare.
Former CEO
2014 – 2020
6 years
Abney orchestrated the highly strategic, multi-billion dollar massive modernization of UPS's sorting facilities, aggressively pushing the legacy company into the rapid e-commerce era before stepping down in 2020.
Serving as CEO, he started as a part-time package loader and rose to lead the entire massive global empire, deeply cementing the company's legendary 'promote-from-within' culture.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
2008 – 2014
6 years
Davis, the former chief financial officer, became chief executive in January 2008.
He led UPS through the recession and the failed bid for TNT Express. David Abney succeeded him in September 2014.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
2002 – 2007
5 years
Eskew became chief executive in 2002.
He expanded supply-chain services and bought Menlo Worldwide Forwarding and Overnite. Scott Davis succeeded him at the start of 2008.
Chief Executive Officer
1984 – 1989
5 years
Jack Rogers served as chief executive of United Parcel Service, Inc. from 1984 to 1989.
Chief Executive Officer
1907 – 1962
55 years
James E. Casey served as chief executive of United Parcel Service, Inc. from 1907 to 1962.
UPS is shrinking parcel volume on purpose, which leaves it with excess network capacity to close while union labor costs under the 2023 Teamsters contract keep rising. Other pressures include trade-policy changes affecting cross-border volume, competition from FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service, and Amazon's own delivery network, and the costs and scrutiny following the November 2025 crash of UPS Flight 2976 in Louisville.
Key leaders include founder Jim Casey (1907–1962), George Smith, Harold Oberkotter, George Lamb, Kent Nelson, Jim Kelly (1997–2001), Mike Eskew (2002–2007), Scott Davis (2008–2014), David Abney (2014–2020), and Carol Tomé (June 2020–present).
Founder Jim Casey led UPS from a tiny Seattle messenger service into an interstate parcel giant, establishing the company's core principles: punctuality, clean appearance, employee ownership, and meticulous industrial engineering.
A former package car driver who rose through operations, Jim Kelly orchestrated UPS's historic 1999 New York Stock Exchange IPO, raising $5.5 billion to fuel global technology and aviation acquisitions.
Mike Eskew oversaw the massive expansion of the Worldport air hub in Louisville, acquired Overnite Transportation to enter domestic freight trucking, and expanded operations into mainland China.
Starting as a 19-year-old part-time package loader, David Abney guided UPS through explosive e-commerce growth, invested billions in hub automation, launched UPS Flight Forward drone delivery, and retired in 2020.
UPS's Board of Directors recognized that navigating the post-e-commerce era required fresh strategic rigor. They broke with a century of promoting solely from within, appointing board member and former Home Depot CFO Carol Tomé as CEO.
Tomé shifted the organizational mindset from chasing package volume growth to prioritizing return on invested capital (ROIC), pruning unprofitable contracts, and reallocating capital into high-margin healthcare and SMB channels.
Tomé engaged proactively with Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien, agreeing to eliminate two-tier wage systems and install vehicle air conditioning, successfully ratifying a five-year contract without a costly work stoppage.
Tomé flattened management layers, appointed external leaders in digital marketing and human resources, promoted insider operational talent, and reduced corporate overhead by eliminating 12,000 management roles.
William R. Johnson, former Chairman and CEO of H.J. Heinz Company, serves as independent Chairman of UPS's Board of Directors, ensuring rigorous governance oversight and alignment with long-term shareholders.
Tomé regularly visits sorting hubs and package centers unannounced, donning UPS brown uniforms to listen directly to preloaders and package drivers about operational bottlenecks.
To build the "Network of the Future"—transforming UPS into a high-margin, carbon-neutral, highly automated digital logistics titan generating premier total shareholder returns.
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