Frank Appel, chief executive of German mail and logistics group Deutsche Post DHL, took charge of the company in February 2008 after his predecessor Klaus Zumwinkel stepped down following a personal tax evasion scandal.

FORBES: Magazine Article

By next year a quarter of Deutsche Post's turnover is expected to come from logistics (freight-forwarding and the like), up from almost nothing last year.

ECONOMIST: Post offices

New Zealand Post has become a successful, innovative global company focusing on parcel delivery, logistics and other businesses.

CNN: Save the Postal Service from collapse

In addition to its traditional services of letter and parcel delivery, the Post Office now provides services such as e-commerce fulfilment, billing and customer management, logistics and warehousing.

BBC: UK Post Office name change

Mr Mehdorn is spurred by the example of Deutsche Post, whose McKinsey-bred management has turned it from a sleepy sorting office into a global logistics firm.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Germany's post -- now Deutsche Post DHL -- was privatized in 2005 and has become a major player in the global delivery and logistics business.

CNN: Save the Postal Service from collapse

And Deutsche Post, with 60, 000 unsackable civil servants on its payroll, has prospered by turning into a global logistics firm.

ECONOMIST: Deutsche Telekom