DHL Express names new CEO for Canada division

Reassignment is homecoming of sorts for Wettlaufer

(Photo: Shutterstock/dennizn)

Darryl Wettlaufer has been promoted to CEO of DHL Express Canada, replacing Geoff Walsh, who received a promotion to managing director, DHL Express Central Europe, DHL Group announced on Monday.

Walsh led DHL Express Canada for a mere 18 months.

Wettlaufer brings nearly two decades of experience within DHL Express, having joined the company in 2006 as operations manager in Canada and rising to vice president of operations. He became part of the Canadian management board in 2014. In that role, he was instrumental in shaping the company’s facility infrastructure roadmap and led the Canadian operations team during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2022, Darryl relocated to South Florida to lead DHL Express Americas regional hubs in Miami and Panama, later expanding his responsibilities to include the company’s hub in Atlanta, and most recently, the super hub in Cincinnati.

Wettlaufer will report to Andrew Williams, CEO of DHL Express Americas, who led DHL Express Canada before Walsh. He will be based in Brampton, Ontario.

As CEO of DHL Express Canada, Wettlaufer will oversee operations and 2,700 employees across the country, at a time when Canada is facing rocky trade relations with the United States. 

DHL Express Canada was forced to suspend operations for three weeks last summer because of a labor dispute.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

DHL Express Canada reinstates service after workers ratify labor deal

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Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Parcel and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was runner up for News Journalist and Supply Chain Journalist of the Year in the Seahorse Freight Association's 2024 journalism award competition. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist. He won the group's Environmental Journalist of the Year award in 2014 and was the 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com