Flexport CFO Resigns as Company Aims for Profitability

Logistics firm Flexport has lost two more high-level executives as it tries to regain profitability.

Chief Financial Officer Kenny Wagers and Jennifer Boden, vice president of people tech and employee experience, are both stepping down, a company spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Wednesday (Sept. 27). 

Earlier this month, CEO Dave Clark, a former Amazon executive, announced his departure after a year on the job.

He was replaced by Flexport founder and former chief executive Ryan Petersen, who announced the personnel changes to employees in a memo that was seen by the WSJ.

“We are working backward from a plan to return Flexport to profitability in the next 18 months,” Petersen wrote. 

A source told the WSJ that Wagers’ departure was a “mutual decision” between the former CFO and the company, while Boden resigned.

The report also noted that Petersen has said he believes that under Clark, Flexport had ceased its customer service focus, which he viewed as critical to winning more business. 

The departure of Flexport’s finance chief comes amid what PYMNTS has described as “an ongoing changing of the CFO guard,” with companies like Wise, Revolut Visa, Intuit and Payoneer all saying farewell to their chief financial officers. 

In many cases, these departures involve longtime leaders making way for “younger and frequently digital-first colleagues,” PYMNTS wrote, as the role of CFO changes as new digital resources become available.

“I’ve compared being a CFO to the idea of a navigator on a plane…,” Jerry Fadden, CFO at direct-to-consumer (D2C) insurance provider Kin, told PYMNTS in an interview. “You’re constantly making adjustments and covering a broad array of … operational issues…” 

Earlier this month, Flexport introduced a self-service, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled supply chain solution designed for entrepreneurs. The company said its all-in-one solution offers instant access to financing, freight, fulfillment and replenishment to all major marketplaces and retail stores. 

“By streamlining the supply chain process, Flexport aims to democratize the supply chain and provide entrepreneurs with the benefits of scale that were previously only available to big companies,” PYMNTS wrote. “This allows entrepreneurs to focus on driving sales at lower costs and reduces the effort needed to manage their entire supply chain.”