UPS takes rare step outside four walls, names Pepsi executive new CFO

UPS Inc. (NYSE:UPS) said today it has named Brian Newman, executive vice president of finance and operations, Latin America for PepsiCo. (NYSE:PEP) to be the company’s new chief financial officer (CFO), taking the rare step of going outside the company to fill such a high-profile position.

Newman, 50, will take over on September 16 from Richard Peretz, who has held the job for four years. Peretz, 57, will retire at the end of the year, and will remain with UPS until then to ensure a smooth transition, UPS said. Peretz has been with UPS for 38 years.

Newman has spent 26 years at Pepsi in a variety of roles across multiple regions. In his current role, Newman leads all finance and operations activities across the Latin America region.

UPS typically promotes from within and generally will not look beyond the organization to hire for such an important role. An exception, though with a twist, was Scott Davis, who joined UPS in 1986 when the company acquired II Morrow, an aviation technology firm where Davis was CEO. Davis was named CFO at UPS in 2001, and its CEO in 2007.