戴夫·克拉克表示,在加入Flexport不到一年后將辭去首席執(zhí)行官一職,因為他的前任,也是該公司的創(chuàng)始人改變了想法。
去年夏天,在電商行業(yè)經(jīng)歷了輝煌的20年后,克拉克在競爭中不敵亞馬遜(Amazon)旗下的亞馬遜云科技(Amazon Web Services)的首席執(zhí)行官安迪·賈西,從亞馬遜離職。2022年9月,他加入Flexport擔任聯(lián)合首席執(zhí)行官。當時一份宣布該任命消息的新聞稿稱克拉克是“全世界最優(yōu)秀的大公司經(jīng)營者之一”,而Flexport的創(chuàng)始人瑞安·彼得森告訴媒體Geekwire,克拉克將“帶領Flexport踏上最激動人心的旅程”。
然而看起來,現(xiàn)在彼得森將獨自帶領公司前進。“創(chuàng)始人有權(quán)改變想法。”克拉克于9月6日在X [原推特(Twitter)平臺]上寫道。他補充道,回到公司是為了“帶公司更進一步”,努力實現(xiàn)顛覆物流業(yè)的愿景。據(jù)他暗示,公司將回歸基本業(yè)務。
克拉克說:“今天,瑞安和我討論希望將重心調(diào)整至核心貨運業(yè)務增長。有鑒于此,我認為他更適合領導公司朝這一方向發(fā)展。因此,我將辭去在Flexport的職務。”
Freightwaves是第一個報道克拉克突然被公司董事會解雇的公司。《信息報》(The Information)進一步報道稱,彼得森和董事會成員羅伯特·斯旺在9月6日告訴克拉克,他要么辭職,要么在第二天被解雇。克拉克幾乎向《信息報》證實了自己的解雇,他告訴新聞媒體:“瑞安覺得他是領導公司前進的最佳人選,我同意他的看法。”
在一份確認領導層變動的聲明里,公司發(fā)言人于9月6日告訴《財富》雜志,“瑞安和董事會其他成員都很感謝過去一年戴夫·克拉克的領導。目前Flexport無法就此事分享更多內(nèi)容。”
這已經(jīng)是克拉克第二次高調(diào)離職。他曾經(jīng)長期擔任物流領域高管,職業(yè)生涯大部分時間都在亞馬遜。他在亞馬遜時聲名鵲起,負責領導亞馬遜全球消費者業(yè)務。克拉克堅定支持公司立場,在《佛蒙特獨立報》(Vermont Independent)表示支持亞馬遜阿拉巴馬州貝塞默倉庫的工會活動后,他曾經(jīng)與進步派參議員伯尼·桑德斯爭吵,也曾經(jīng)親自到訪該倉庫。(最終員工拒絕加入工會。)
“我經(jīng)常說我們是雇主中的伯尼·桑德斯,但并不完全正確,因為實際上我們?yōu)檫x民提供了開明的工作場所:最低工資15美元、入職第一天就有醫(yī)保、提供職業(yè)發(fā)展機會,以及安全和包容的工作環(huán)境。”2021年,克拉克在接受媒體Business Insider的采訪時表示。
“所以,如果你想聽人談時薪15美元和醫(yī)保,就可以去市中心聽參議員桑德斯演講。但如果想時薪至少15美元并擁有完善的醫(yī)保,亞馬遜正在招聘。”他說。
克拉克在推特(現(xiàn)改名為X)上也積極為亞馬遜辯護,曾經(jīng)猛烈回擊批評該公司的政客(以及喜劇演員約翰·奧利弗)。2020年,斯塔滕島亞馬遜倉庫的員工開始加入工會時,Vice報道稱克拉克曾經(jīng)參與抹黑其中一名組織者,然而最終失敗,文中稱他“不聰明,要么就是表述不清”。
在亞馬遜,經(jīng)常有人提起克拉克可能接替創(chuàng)始人杰夫·貝佐斯。但最終安迪·賈西(此前負責馬遜的云部門)勝出。離職一年前,克拉克從亞馬遜的西雅圖總部搬到休斯頓,辭職后曾經(jīng)向《福布斯》(Forbes)表示“快樂得有點超出想象”,還稱渴望去一家較小的公司擔任首席執(zhí)行官。
現(xiàn)在他的目標可能是更高層的領導:《華爾街日報》(Wall Street Journal)稱,克拉克正在考慮競選美國得克薩斯州的州長,還聘請了政治顧問。(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:馮豐
審校:夏林
戴夫·克拉克表示,在加入Flexport不到一年后將辭去首席執(zhí)行官一職,因為他的前任,也是該公司的創(chuàng)始人改變了想法。
去年夏天,在電商行業(yè)經(jīng)歷了輝煌的20年后,克拉克在競爭中不敵亞馬遜(Amazon)旗下的亞馬遜云科技(Amazon Web Services)的首席執(zhí)行官安迪·賈西,從亞馬遜離職。2022年9月,他加入Flexport擔任聯(lián)合首席執(zhí)行官。當時一份宣布該任命消息的新聞稿稱克拉克是“全世界最優(yōu)秀的大公司經(jīng)營者之一”,而Flexport的創(chuàng)始人瑞安·彼得森告訴媒體Geekwire,克拉克將“帶領Flexport踏上最激動人心的旅程”。
然而看起來,現(xiàn)在彼得森將獨自帶領公司前進。“創(chuàng)始人有權(quán)改變想法。”克拉克于9月6日在X [原推特(Twitter)平臺]上寫道。他補充道,回到公司是為了“帶公司更進一步”,努力實現(xiàn)顛覆物流業(yè)的愿景。據(jù)他暗示,公司將回歸基本業(yè)務。
克拉克說:“今天,瑞安和我討論希望將重心調(diào)整至核心貨運業(yè)務增長。有鑒于此,我認為他更適合領導公司朝這一方向發(fā)展。因此,我將辭去在Flexport的職務。”
Freightwaves是第一個報道克拉克突然被公司董事會解雇的公司。《信息報》(The Information)進一步報道稱,彼得森和董事會成員羅伯特·斯旺在9月6日告訴克拉克,他要么辭職,要么在第二天被解雇。克拉克幾乎向《信息報》證實了自己的解雇,他告訴新聞媒體:“瑞安覺得他是領導公司前進的最佳人選,我同意他的看法。”
在一份確認領導層變動的聲明里,公司發(fā)言人于9月6日告訴《財富》雜志,“瑞安和董事會其他成員都很感謝過去一年戴夫·克拉克的領導。目前Flexport無法就此事分享更多內(nèi)容。”
這已經(jīng)是克拉克第二次高調(diào)離職。他曾經(jīng)長期擔任物流領域高管,職業(yè)生涯大部分時間都在亞馬遜。他在亞馬遜時聲名鵲起,負責領導亞馬遜全球消費者業(yè)務。克拉克堅定支持公司立場,在《佛蒙特獨立報》(Vermont Independent)表示支持亞馬遜阿拉巴馬州貝塞默倉庫的工會活動后,他曾經(jīng)與進步派參議員伯尼·桑德斯爭吵,也曾經(jīng)親自到訪該倉庫。(最終員工拒絕加入工會。)
“我經(jīng)常說我們是雇主中的伯尼·桑德斯,但并不完全正確,因為實際上我們?yōu)檫x民提供了開明的工作場所:最低工資15美元、入職第一天就有醫(yī)保、提供職業(yè)發(fā)展機會,以及安全和包容的工作環(huán)境。”2021年,克拉克在接受媒體Business Insider的采訪時表示。
“所以,如果你想聽人談時薪15美元和醫(yī)保,就可以去市中心聽參議員桑德斯演講。但如果想時薪至少15美元并擁有完善的醫(yī)保,亞馬遜正在招聘。”他說。
克拉克在推特(現(xiàn)改名為X)上也積極為亞馬遜辯護,曾經(jīng)猛烈回擊批評該公司的政客(以及喜劇演員約翰·奧利弗)。2020年,斯塔滕島亞馬遜倉庫的員工開始加入工會時,Vice報道稱克拉克曾經(jīng)參與抹黑其中一名組織者,然而最終失敗,文中稱他“不聰明,要么就是表述不清”。
在亞馬遜,經(jīng)常有人提起克拉克可能接替創(chuàng)始人杰夫·貝佐斯。但最終安迪·賈西(此前負責馬遜的云部門)勝出。離職一年前,克拉克從亞馬遜的西雅圖總部搬到休斯頓,辭職后曾經(jīng)向《福布斯》(Forbes)表示“快樂得有點超出想象”,還稱渴望去一家較小的公司擔任首席執(zhí)行官。
現(xiàn)在他的目標可能是更高層的領導:《華爾街日報》(Wall Street Journal)稱,克拉克正在考慮競選美國得克薩斯州的州長,還聘請了政治顧問。(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:馮豐
審校:夏林
Dave Clark is leaving as CEO of Flexport less than a year after joining the company, and it’s because his predecessor, the company’s founder, changed his mind.
Clark, who left Amazon last summer after a starry two-decade career at the e-retailer after losing a bake-off to former Amazon Web Services chief Andy Jassy, joined Flexport in September of 2022 as co-CEO. A company press release from last summer announcing Clark’s appointment called him “one of the world’s best operators at scale,” while Flexport founder Ryan Petersen told Geekwire that Clark would “shepherd Flexport into the most exciting phase of our journey.”
Now, however, it looks like Petersen will be leading the flock alone. “Founders have the right to change their minds,” Clark wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on September 6, adding that he had been brought in to “take the company to the next level” and deliver on a vision of disrupting the logistics industry. Instead, it’s a back-to-basics move, he suggested.
“Today, Ryan and I discussed his desire to return to focusing on growth in the core freight business,” he said. “In light of that, I feel that he is best suited to lead the company in that direction. As such, I will be resigning from my position at Flexport.”
Freightwaves was first to report that Clark was fired—abruptly—by the company’s board. The Information further reported that Petersen and Robert Swan, a board member, told Clark on September 6 that he could either resign or be fired the following day. Clark all but confirmed his termination to The Information, telling the news outlet that “Ryan felt he was the best person to lead the company forward, and I agreed with him.”
In a statement confirming the change of leadership, a company spokesperson told Fortune on September 6, “Ryan and the rest of the board thank Dave Clark for his leadership over the past year. Flexport has nothing further to share on this matter at this time.”
It’s the second high-profile departure for Clark, a veteran logistics executive who spent most of his career at Amazon, where he made his name and rose to lead its worldwide consumer business. A staunch defender of the company, Clark famously locked horns with progressive senator Bernie Sanders after the Vermont Independent expressed support for a union drive at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama warehouse, including an in-person visit. (The workers ultimately rejected unionizing.)
“I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that’s not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace for our constituents: a $15 minimum wage, health care from day one, career progression, and a safe and inclusive work environment,” Clark told Insider in 2021.
“So if you want to hear about $15 an hour and health care, Senator Sanders will be speaking downtown. But if you would like to make at least $15 an hour and have good health care, Amazon is hiring,” he said.
Clark was also a vocal defender of Amazon on Twitter (now X), lashing out at politicians (and comedian John Oliver) who criticized the company. In 2020, when workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island moved to unionize, Vice reported that Clark was involved in a failed campaign to smear one of the organizers, including by painting him as “not smart or articulate.”
At Amazon, Clark was often named as a possible successor to founder Jeff Bezos. But he was ultimately passed over for Andy Jassy, who had led Amazon’s cloud division before ascending to the top spot. Clark moved from Amazon’s Seattle headquarters to Houston the year before leaving, and upon his resignation told Forbes that he had “outgrown my joy a little bit” and was yearning for a stint as CEO at a smaller company.
He could now be eyeing an even bigger scale of leadership: The Wall Street Journal reported that he is considering running for governor of Texas and has hired political consultants for that goal.