Patrik Puskala has been appointed Managing Director of Avelon Group Oy succeeding Jan Lönnblad who will continue as Advisor to the Board of Directors.
Mr Puskala has worked at the Baltic-based automotive LSP since May 2006 when he joined as Development Director focusing on M&A activities and Russian expansion. In July 2007 he also assumed responsibility for the Russian transit business. Before joining Avelon Group, he worked in John Nurminen Group focusing on M&A and new ventures.
"With Patrik Puskala taking over as Managing Director there will be an intensified focus on operational excellence and cost efficiency for the benefit of our customers and partners,” said Chairman of the Board, Markus Sjöholm. “During Jan Lönnblad's leadership, Avelon Group Oy has been developed to the leading vehicle logistics service provider in the Baltic Sea region. Therefore, we are also pleased that Jan Lönnblad will assume the role as Board Adviser in strategic projects."
 
CEVA Logistics has appointed Sven Kirkerup as its new Finance Director for Central Europe. In his new role he will manage the finance for Contract Logistics (CL) and Freight Management (FM) in Central Europe.
He takes up the position formerly held by Steven Ryan, who is moving to CEVA’s Eastern Europe business unit as Finance Director, Central Europe. Kirkerup will report to John Klompers, future Managing Director for Central Europe, who assumes this position on February 1, 2009.
For the past 18 years, Kirkerup has occupied a range of positions at the Anglo-Dutch corporation Unilever, Where he gained international experience in both finance and supply chains. Most recently, he was responsible for Finance and IT in Chile.
 
Phil Shankley (pictured) is the new Director of Business Development and Marketing at Gefco and has moved onto the company’s Executive Board. He moves from his position as Project Manager for India.
 
North America’s Pacer International has appointed James Commiskey as Vice President, Business Development – Automotive, for its Pacer Stacktrain unit. He is responsible for sales and coordinating the marketing effort for Pacer’s wholesale automotive product and will report directly to Adriene Bailey, President of Pacer Stacktrain.
“Jim joins Pacer at a pivotal time,” said Bailey. “We are focused on creating additional value for our automotive customers as they manage through the unprecedented market conditions that exist in this sector.
“We are expanding our intermodal services network to create additional opportunities for our customers to convert highway moves to reliable and cost-effective intermodal service that also advance our customers’ environmental sustainability initiatives. And, we are making a significant investment in our systems platform to simplify and enhance our customer experience with Pacer.”
Prior to joining Pacer, Commiskey was Senior Vice President of Avnet Logistics, where he was responsible for sales, marketing, and services development.