Wes Wheeler appointed to lead ups healthcare and life sciences unit

Wes Wheeler, currently CEO of Marken, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UPS, has been appointed President of the UPS Global Healthcare and Life Sciences (HCLS) unit. The move is effective immediately. UPS announced in October plans to align all its healthcare and life sciences operations and commercial groups within a single UPS HCLS unit.

UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced that Wes Wheeler, currently CEO of Marken, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UPS, has been appointed President of the UPS Global Healthcare and Life Sciences (HCLS) unit.The move is effective immediately. UPS announced in October plans to align all its healthcare and life sciences operations and commercial groups within a single UPS HCLS unit.

"We are pleased to appoint Wes to this very important leadership role," said David Abney, UPS chairman and CEO. "He has an impressive career and extensive experience in the clinical trials, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. His expertise will complement our strategic healthcare growth and technology initiatives."

UPS's HCLS unit provides extensive supply chain management, cold chain, clinical trials, global transportation and other critical healthcare service operations. The unit includes Marken, Polar Speed, and the company's 114 healthcare-dedicated facilities. The HCLS unit has a dedicated and healthcare-trained salesforce and customer support teams throughout the company's global network.

Wheeler will expand UPS's HCLS services with key investments, partnerships and technology that address unique customer needs in the healthcare and life science markets. UPS also plans to harmonise quality standards and operating procedures as part of the alignment of all its HCLS operations. Recently, UPS introduced new technology-enabled solutions for critical healthcare parcels that leverage the company's data networks to offer improved package tracking, special handling protocols and enhanced contingency management, to ensure the highest levels of speed, visibility and reliability.

Wheeler joined UPS as part of the company's acquisition of Marken in 2016. He started his career as a project manager at Exxon Research and Engineering. Since then, he has served in numerous leadership positions including Vice President of Marketing, Senior Vice President of Global Manufacturing and Supply at Glaxo (now GlaxoSmithKline) and as CEO /President at four companies, including Patheon, Valeant, DSM Pharmaceuticals and Marken. Wheeler joined Marken as CEO in 2011.

During his 40-year professional career, he has been involved in every key functional area in pharmaceuticals, including manufacturing, medicine development, supply chain logistics, marketing, and engineering.

"Healthcare and life sciences have many complex supply chain challenges and opportunities," said Abney. "We look forward to Wes continuing our commitment to putting healthcare customers' needs first, while ensuring UPS meets supply chain demands with quality assurance, innovation and control."

Wheeler has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis on Finance. He has two adult children and currently lives in North Carolina.

About UPS Healthcare

UPS Healthcare delivers unparalleled healthcare logistics expertise to its customers around the world. UPS Healthcare has 11+ million square feet of cGMP and GDP-compliant healthcare distribution space globally. Its services include inventory management, cold chain packaging and shipping, storage and fulfilment of medical devices, and lab and clinical trial logistics. UPS Healthcare's global infrastructure, its UPS^® Premier visibility service, its track and trace technology, and its global quality system are well-suited to meeting today's complex logistics demands for the pharmaceutical, medical device, and laboratory diagnostic industries.