DHL Global Forwarding, the freight specialist arm of DHL Group, has announced three strategic leadership appointments in Asia Pacific with the upcoming retirement of Kelvin Leung and Charles Kauffman.

Karsten Michaelis has succeeded Charles Kauffman as President/ Representative Director, DHL Global Forwarding, Japan, who is retiring after serving as CEO, DHL Global Forwarding North Asia South Pacific (NASP) for five decades. 

Karsten will assume his new role as President/ Representative Director, DHL Global Forwarding Japan, effective July 1, 2023. Karsten will be based in Japan and report to Charles Kaufmann in his new role.

Karsten Michaelis has had an extensive career spanning over two decades in the logistics sector, he has been based primarily in the Asia Pacific region, in locations such as Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Australia and Singapore. Since joining the group in 2011, Karsten took on several managerial roles for Ocean Freight in Asia Pacific, including his most recent position as SVP, Ocean Freight DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific, in 2017.

The DHL Global Forwarding has also announced the appointments of Edwin Pinto as Managing Director, DHL Global Forwarding, India, and Praveen Gregory as SVP Ocean Freight, DHL Global Forwarding, Asia Pacific.

Edwin Pinto, currently Head of Sales & Marketing, DHL Global Forwarding, Thailand and Indochina, has succeeded Niki Frank following his promotion as CEO of DHL Global Forwarding, Asia Pacific. Edwin will assume his new role on September 1, and he will report to Niki Frank, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding, Asia Pacific. Edwin will be based in India.

Edwin joined DHL in 2001 in India and has since worked in several management roles across DHL Global Forwarding. Working for the automotive sector, he gained experience across various positions until being announced as Sector Director DGF for the South Asia Pacific and Africa region in 2010.

Praveen Gregory, currently VP Order Management Solutions Asia Pacific at DHL Global Forwarding, will assume the position of SVP Ocean Freight DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific, effective September 1. In his new role, Praveen will be based in Singapore and report directly to Niki Frank, CEO DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific, with a dotted line to Casper Ellerbaek, EVP Global Ocean Freight DHL Global Forwarding.

Prior to joining DHL Group in Dubai Ocean Freight Operations in 2008, Praveen had worked for Maersk. In 2010, he relocated to Germany and held several roles in Market Intelligence & Strategy and Product Development. He moved to Hong Kong in 2018 to take on regional management roles in Ocean Commercial Center and Account Management ISC. In 2022, he assumed his current position as VP Order Management Solutions Asia Pacific.

"With Kelvin and Charles retiring this year, it has opened up a few key positions that we had to fill, and I am glad that we could do so with candidates from the network. This goes to show that we can nurture and retain talent while providing the right opportunities for growth to our employees. All of them bring the right experience, the required expertise and will provide a fresh perspective to these roles," said Niki Frank.