Carousel Logistics CEO ‘hands over the baton’ as company enters new phase of growth

Carousel Logistics co-founder and CEO Graham Martin has announced that he will be handing over the reins of the company and moving to a Non-Executive Director position on Carousel’s Strategic Board.

Former Cardtronics International and WLT Europe CEO, Jonathan Simpson-Dent joins Carousel in September and will take-up the position as Carousel’s new CEO.

Commenting on his decision, Graham Martin said:

“Every founder knows that at some point the time must come to hand over the baton and for me, that point is now. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved, specifically, a strong foundation that enables Carousel to enter the next phase of its journey and this feels to me like a really great time to hand over that baton.”

During the last three decades – including 20 years as CEO – Graham has led the business through a transformative period in the company’s history; growing group revenues fourfold since receiving private equity backing in 2013. Over the last four years Carousel has expanded its operations into new European markets and made three strategic acquisitions in as many years.

During his time as CEO, Graham has future-proofed the company by establishing a distinctive values-led culture and built a strong team that will support the company as it continues to expand. The recruitment of leading high performance service-logistics expert (now Carousel Board Chair) Franz-Joseph Miller in 2017 and Nigel Ward as CFO in 2019, have been critical milestones on that journey. Graham and Franz-Joseph have worked in close cooperation to prepare the company for long-term growth and structured this transition to support with its expansion.

Graham continues:

“Carousel is now at a key point in its journey, to become the number one choice for service-logistics in Europe. Jonathan is the ideal candidate to join us at this point because of his expertise growing organisations internationally, as well as his experience working with organisations like ours. He’s already deeply committed to the Carousel purpose, which will ensure our continued success, while also importantly the preservation of our values-focused culture.”

Jonathan Simpson-Dent joins Carousel with 20 years’ experience in strategic leadership. As the former CEO of WLT Europe – a leading support services firm – and Cardtronics International – the leading ATM service provider – his expertise lies in scaling service and technology-driven B2B organisations through domestic, international and acquisitive growth. Jonathan remains as Non-Executive Director on the Board of Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust PLC.

Commenting on the new position, Jonathan says: “I am honoured and excited to be joining Carousel not least because, during the last three decades, Graham has built a hugely respected business that has enormous potential. His success is testament to a relentless focus on both innovative solution development – bringing measurable, bottom-line value to the client – and exceptional service delivery.

“I’d like to thank Graham for building a culture, team and technology platform that I now have the opportunity to take forward in the next phase of the journey. My priorities will be to help the business realise its true potential; to continue delivering an unswerving commitment to both Team Carousel and our clients, while also preserving Carousel’s renowned reputation for quality and care. I can’t wait to get started.”

Jonathan will join Carousel’s Strategic Board alongside CFO Nigel Ward, CSO Kevin Turner and Franz-Joseph Miller as Chair.

Carousel Chair of the Board, Franz-Joseph Miller says: “One of the most important decisions every founder has to make is how best to prepare a company for the future, and make sure it has the right team in place to guarantee its onward success. In welcoming a new CEO to the company, Graham has ensured Carousel is well-positioned to drive our key strategic priorities forward and ready to address the rapidly growing need for first class service-logistics in Europe. I look forward to continuing Graham’s legacy, with Jonathan and the rest of the Strategic Board.”

Offering specialist logistics solutions, to service-focused organisations operating in a range of high-performance industries, Carousel’s client portfolio includes a range of international blue-chip clients such as John Deere, Liebherr and Suzuki. The company was founded in 1986 and secured private equity-backing from Livingbridge in 2013. For more information, please visit carousel.eu.