President Biden nominated two people to the USPS Board of Governors on Friday, one of them with some ecommerce chops. Derek Kan currently oversees business operations and strategy for Deliverr, which is a fulfillment service that offers merchants an alternative to Amazon FBA. He also was General Manager of ride-sharing service Lyft from 2015 – 2017.
Kan is no stranger to Washington DC, however, having served at the White House, the Senate, and the US Department of Transportation. His LinkedIn profile also shows he was an advisor to hedge fund Elliott Management and a consultant at Bain & Company.
The President’s other nominee, Daniel Tangherlini, also has both private sector and government experience. He is currently Managing Director of The Emerson Collective, “a private philanthropic and investment firm dedicated to removing barriers to opportunity so that people can live to their fullest potential.”
The two nominees replace outgoing Governors Ron Bloom and John Barger, whom the Washington Post characterized as “two key allies of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy,” a controversial figure. (For a recap, see this week’s Public Integrity report on DeJoy’s conflicts of interest, decision to slow the mail during the presidential elections, and his compensation and perks, contrasting it with the typical annual pay for all postal service employees – $51,150 in 2020.)
According to his Board of Governors bio, “Ron A. Bloom was nominated to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump, confirmed by the Senate and began his service Aug. 20, 2019. Bloom served the remainder of a seven-year term that expired Dec. 8, 2020, and is currently in a holdover year. He was unanimously elected by his fellow Governors on Feb. 9, 2021, to serve as the 24th Chairman of the Board of Governors.”
The USPS Board of Governors is important, since it selects the Postmaster General, who “serves at the pleasure of the governors for an indefinite term.” The organization compares the Board to a board of directors of a publicly held corporation. The Board normally consists of up to nine governors appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Today’s announcement from the White House stated, “The USPS serves hundreds of millions of Americans across the nation every day. President Biden is committed to supporting USPS workers so that they can continue delivering for their fellow Americans, particularly those in rural communities, veterans, and older Americans who rely so heavily on the Postal Service. President Biden is also committed to strengthening and modernizing this critical public institution and its services to ensure it continues serving the American people for decades to come.”
The article makes it sound like Bloom is a Republican which in not the case. Bloom is a Democrat where he served Obama for a few hours in a couple roles. He also was hired by the letters carrier union ,NALC in 2011 to develop a plan and ideas to help USPS. Just wanted to make the record clear what party Mr. Bloom belongs too which he is a Democrat.
as soon as I read “Bain & Company” I thought this will be no help to the USPS customers.
Doubt they’ll be able to save the USS USPS ship from sinking, letters cutting back, 2 rate increase’s per year, raised dim weights, NOW add outrageous fees on packages over 22″. What leaves them is the small 1st class packages but with the yearly rate increase my inventory is getting smaller of what will sell. I always thought it would be ebay and their antics would put me out of business but looks like it’ll be the USPS.