Harry Koorstra, chief executive of the Dutch post office, PostNL, has quit citing differences with the supervisory board.
“The cooperation with the supervisory board has been very cumbersome of late,” he said, “among others in relation to differences in opinion about how to serve best the various stakeholders’ interests.
“Under these circumstances, giving the challenges the company faces, I cannot and will not work. I am leaving without any compensation as I consider principles to be of paramount importance” said Koorstra.
Piet Klaver, chairman of the supervisory board, said: “We regret Harry’s departure. During more than twenty years Harry has made a significant contribution in often very challenging circumstances.”
PostNL became a separate entity in April last year following the demerger of TNT Express and expects to make about 1.5bn euros from the sale of its remaining stake in TNT to UPS.
Like other postal services around the world, it has seen revenues sliding as mail volumes have fallen. In 2011, underlying revenue was down 4.1 per cent as a result of a fall in mail volume of 7.2 per cent.
The Supervisory Board intends to appoint Herna Verhagen, member of the board of management and responsible for parcels and international, as the new CEO of PostNL.