DHL Supply Chain Australia Announces Key Succession in Life Sciences and Healthcare

DHL Supply Chain (DHL) has promoted Daniele Guainazzi to the role of Vice President of Life Sciences and Healthcare (LSHC) in Australia.

Guainazzi, who has over two decades’ experience in senior roles in LSHC logistics in Australia and abroad, has served DHL in the Asia Pacific region for over 11 years.

The promotion comes as DHL, a market leader in third-party LSHC logistics, is increasing its commitment to the LSHC sector beyond its current service to the hospitals, pharmacies, vets, wholesalers and homes it serves nationally with multiple Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)-compliant sites, featuring multiple-temperature range storage and over 200,000 pallet spaces. 

DHL plans to invest and expand in specialist pharmaceuticals – focusing on providing quality end-to-end logistics solutions for biologics, cell and gene therapies and frozen or cryogenic storage – as part of the company’s newly launched Strategy 2030. The strategy is focused on sustainable growth across multiple industry sectors through DHL’s business units. It includes plans to invest globally in end-to-end specialised logistics solutions over the next five years.

Michael Gardner, DHL’s Vice President of LSHC for over eight years , has taken a newly created global role as Head of Pharma Specialised Network. He will relocate to DHL’s head office in Bonn, Germany, where he will help guide the company’s global LSHC teams in specialised pharmaceuticals.

DHL Supply Chain CEO ANZ, Steve Thompsett, said he’s looking forward to the advancements to come with Guainazzi and Gardner in their new roles.

“At DHL we understand the increasing importance of specialised pharmaceuticals in Australia and globally, with innovations and significant breakthroughs being made here and abroad,” he said.

“The capabilities of our business divisions, our footprint with over 100 life sciences sites worldwide, advanced cold chain transport and packaging on a large scale, expertise in robotics and automation, and strong relationships with the industry make expansion in this field a logical step.

“I’m looking forward to working more closely with DHL’s business divisions, including DHL Express, Global Forwarding and Supply Chain, to support this industry and the customers who rely on its lifesaving treatments.

“Michael has had an exceptional career with DHL Supply Chain Australia, and his legacy includes the development advanced temperature-controlled packaging and transport solutions and substantial expansion of our life sciences and healthcare operations with over 1,200 dedicated employees.

“I’m thrilled with Daniele’s career trajectory. He has earned the respect of our customers and will continue to innovate and lead our life sciences and healthcare team in Australia,” Thompsett added.