Ryder System CEO and Chairman Robert Sanchez will retire on March 31, ending a leadership role for him that began in 2013, the company announced Friday in a news release.
The 60-year-old’s successor will be President and COO John Diez, and Sanchez will become executive chair as part of the change.
“Serving Ryder for more than three decades has truly been an extraordinary experience,” Sanchez said in the release.
As CEO, he has led the company’s balanced growth strategy involving converting customers, according to the company.
Sanchez previously held senior executive leadership positions with Ryder in operations, finance and information technology, the company previously noted. That included time as president and COO, president of global fleet management solutions, CFO, CIO, EVP of feet management solutions operations, SVP of transportation management within Supply Chain Solutions and VP of asset management.
“In his earlier roles, Mr. Sanchez played a key part in implementing the strategy to centralize Ryder’s asset management function and improve its cost management,” a company bio says.
Diez, who started in 2002 as an assistant controller with the company, previously served as Ryder’s CFO, president of its fleet management business and president of the company’s dedicated transportation unit.
“Thanks to Robert’s strong leadership, we have enormous opportunities to continue growing as the complexity of supply chains intensify and the demand for our port-to-door services increases,” Diez said.
He added that he’s looking forward to continuing to working closely with Sanchez, the board and the entire organization to leverage the power of Ryder.
Sanchez, who earned degrees at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Miami, said that his successor deeply understands the business and is uniquely positioned to lead the company’s next phase of growth.
“I am confident that he is the right leader to drive Ryder’s continued growth,” Sanchez said.
