Why not promote from the ranks?
Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 8:08 am
New UPS chief is an increasingly rare breed:
An executive who worked up from the bottom
By Danielle Paquette
The Washington Post
David Abney started working for UPS 40 years ago, part time. He loaded trucks at night and studied business during the day at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss. He needed the job: A scholarship covered his tuition but not dates with his high school sweetheart.
Abney, the first in his family to attend college, couldn’t afford to live on campus. He often skipped the 45-minute commute home and slept on couches in the school’s union — the portrait of a scrappy dreamer, his friends say.
Fewer U.S. companies promote leaders from the rank and file, but experts say they’re missing out.
“I told him, ‘One day, we’re going to bronze one of those couches and present it to you,” said Keith Fulcher, executive director of Delta’s alumni association. “This is where it all started. On the couches. Right here.”
On Friday, Abney was named the next chief executive of UPS, the world’s largest package delivery company, succeeding D. Scott Davis on Sept. 1. “The company has provided me tremendous opportunity, amazing career experiences and rewarding professional development,” Abney, 58, said in a statement.
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An executive who worked up from the bottom
By Danielle Paquette
The Washington Post
David Abney started working for UPS 40 years ago, part time. He loaded trucks at night and studied business during the day at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss. He needed the job: A scholarship covered his tuition but not dates with his high school sweetheart.
Abney, the first in his family to attend college, couldn’t afford to live on campus. He often skipped the 45-minute commute home and slept on couches in the school’s union — the portrait of a scrappy dreamer, his friends say.
Fewer U.S. companies promote leaders from the rank and file, but experts say they’re missing out.
“I told him, ‘One day, we’re going to bronze one of those couches and present it to you,” said Keith Fulcher, executive director of Delta’s alumni association. “This is where it all started. On the couches. Right here.”
On Friday, Abney was named the next chief executive of UPS, the world’s largest package delivery company, succeeding D. Scott Davis on Sept. 1. “The company has provided me tremendous opportunity, amazing career experiences and rewarding professional development,” Abney, 58, said in a statement.
MORE