The Postal Service, looking back on 13 years with net financial losses and looking to withstand the financial devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, has found a new postmaster general to lead the agency.

The USPS Board of Governors on Wednesday announced that supply-chain and distribution center executive Louis DeJoy will serve as the next postmaster general, starting June 15.

The board has been on the search for a new postmaster general to replace Megan Brennan, who announced that she would retire in January, but indefinitely postponed her retirement pending the search for her successor.

The past four postmasters general, including Brennan, held USPS leadership positions before taking the top job. As for Brennan, she spent her entire 33-year career with the agency and started out as a letter carrier in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

DeJoy, however, the former chairman and CEO of New Breed Logistics, will be the first postmaster general in more than 20 years to lead USPS without prior experience working there, and the fifth postmaster general to come from the private sector since the 1970 Postal Reorganization Act.

The Board of Governors, in a press release sent Wednesday night, said it conducted a nationwide search for a new executive following Brennan’s retirement announcement, and reviewed the records of more than 200 candidates before narrowing the list down to more than 50 candidates.

From there, the board interviewed more than a dozen candidates in first-round interviews, and brought seven back for follow-up questioning. That final list went through a final vetting before the board made its decision.

“Louis DeJoy understands the critical public service role of the United States Postal Service, and the urgent need to strengthen it for future generations,” board chairman Robert Duncan said in a statement. “The Board appreciated Louis’ depth of knowledge on the important issues facing the Postal Service and his desire to work with all of our stakeholders on preserving and protecting this essential institution.”

The search for a new postmaster general ended just a week after USPS Governor David Williams, a five-time inspector general in the federal government, stepped down from his role as vice president of the board.

A Postal Regulatory Commission filing shows that Williams offered his resignation from the board on April 30. His term expired last December, but governors can continue to serve on the board for an additional holdover year after their term expires.

The board now has six total members: four appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate, Brennan and Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman.

The Washington Post, which first reported this story on Wednesday, also notes that DeJoy is in charge of fundraising for this year’s Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has given more than $2 million to the Trump campaign or Republican platforms since 2016.

His wife, Aldona Wos, was the U.S. ambassador to Estonia during the George W. Bush administration, currently serves as the vice chairwoman of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships and is Trump’s nominee for the U.S. ambassador to Canada. 

With a 35-year career in the logistics business, DeJoy said he has “worked closely” with the Postal Service for decades.

“I look forward to working with the supporters of the Postal Service in Congress and the administration to ensure the Postal Service remains an integral part of the United States government,” DeJoy said in a statement. “Postal workers are the heart and soul of this institution, and I will be honored to work alongside them and their unions. It will be an incredible honor to serve as Postmaster General, and I commit myself to upholding the Postal Service’s cherished role in our nation.”

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