XPO Logistics’ Brad Jacobs discusses stepping down as CEO with Mario Harik to succeed him

XPO Logistics announced Thursday that Mario Harik will be taking over the role of chief executive from Brad Jacobs after the company’s spin-off of its high-tech truck brokerage business in the fiscal fourth quarter. 

Harik was also named president of XPO’s less-than-truckload business. He had served as acting president since last October.

Jacobs will remain as executive chairman at XPO and non-executive chairman at the spun-off company.

“There’s no better person to do it than Mario,” he said of his successor. “Mario is the third person I hired back in 2011. It was love at first sight.”

The company also reiterated its plan to sell off its Europe business and become a company focused only on LTL trucking, which lets multiple customers transport goods in the same truck. 

When Cramer asked Harik how customers’ concerns about the Federal Reserve’s inflation policy and a possible economic recession has impacted business, the incoming CEO said that the feedback has been mixed.

“We’re seeing slightly softer demand than what we saw last year,” Harik said.

He added that demand from industrial customers has been stronger, since they’re dealing with pent-up demand from their own customers as supply shortages ease. Industrial companies make up two-thirds of XPO’s customers, according to Harik.

Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Club to follow Jim Cramer’s every move in the market.

Disclaimer