To Be Succeeded by Deputy Postmaster General Donahoe
October 25, 2010
WASHINGTON — After nearly 10 years as U.S. Postmaster General and CEO of the U.S. Postal Service, John E. Potter today announced that he will retire on Dec. 3, after 32 years of service.
The Governors of the Postal Service named Patrick R. Donahoe, currently Deputy Postmaster General and Chief Operating Officer, to succeed Potter.
A New York City native, Potter is credited with modernizing management, introducing long-term, strategic thinking necessary in a complex and changing marketplace, and transforming the Postal Service into a service-driven customer-focused and cost-sensitive organization.
Potter’s accomplishments include:
- Eliminating more than $20 billion in costs during the last 10 years, with cumulative savings of more than $50 billion.
- Building a leaner, more flexible workforce and increasing efficiency and productivity through technology and the expansion of automation in mail processing and delivery.
- Reducing career employment from 787,000 positions in 2001 to about 584,000 today through attrition, using strong and focused management practices.
- Leading the Postal Service and the nation through the anthrax terrorist attack following 9/11.
- Creating a 10-year action plan that is a blueprint for necessary operational, legislative and regulatory changes to the current business model to ensure a viable Postal Service for decades to come.
Potter expressed his pride in the performance of the men and women of the Postal Service, saying its accomplishments resulted from the thousands of employees who dedicated themselves to meeting customer needs in a rapidly changing technological and communications environment.
“I fully appreciate their support in maintaining the tradition of trust that dates back to Benjamin Franklin and the founding of our nation,” Potter said. “It is our people that define our organization and it is their dedication and sense of purpose that drives our business.”
Louis J. Giuliano, Board of Governors chair, noted Potter’s many accomplishments in thanking the Postmaster General for his years of service.
“You have been a steadying and far-sighted leader throughout a period of dynamic change in America’s use of the mail and during times of economic uncertainty,” Giuliano said. “The hallmark of your success was your ability to build respectful relationships with all stakeholders, customers and employees that built a trusted level of credibility. We unreservedly regard your tenure as one of great accomplishment.”
Donahoe, currently Deputy Postmaster General, will become the 73rd Postmaster General in December. Potter credits Donahoe and his entire service team with regularly exceeding demanding performance goals and setting new records for on-time delivery and operational efficiency.
Donahoe began his career as a clerk in Pittsburgh in 1975, and in 2001, became responsible for all facets of mail operations, including processing delivery, retail, engineering, transportation and facilities. He has served in a variety of senior management positions in operations and human resources before becoming Deputy Postmaster General in 2005.
Giuliano cited Donahoe’s outstanding performance as one of the main reasons the Board chose Donahoe to build on the Postal Service’s achievements and lead the organization through a changing business environment.
“Pat and Jack have been a very effective team,” Giuliano said. “We’re very sorry to see Jack leave, but we’re grateful for the significant contributions his transformative approach to our organization and the nation it serves. We wish him nothing but the best in the future.”
Donahoe said he appreciated the confidence of the governors in naming him the next Postmaster General.
“It’s been an honor to serve with Jack,” Donahoe said. “Our challenge going forward is to implement the ambitious plan now in place to assure the continued viability of the Postal Service in fulfilling its mission of providing reliable, self-supporting, universal mail service to our nation. While we are confronted by challenges, I am confident we will succeed.”
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of products and services to fund its operations.
Please click here for additional information and details on Potter’s Postal Service career
Get rid of the employees with 20+ years, I hope your proud of yourself Potter… Most of these employees have very serious injuries due to their employment @ the USPS and you just throw them out like last weeks trash, and now the P.O. is using being injured at work as intimidation so nobody will file an on the job injury for FEAR of losing their job, SHAME ON YOU! Yes there were people who were scamming the system, and they should get in trouble for it, but most were truly injured… How is it the those who were not injured at work get to keep their job? And what about those in Management who are injured, and got skipped over during the NRP process? Different rules for Management???? Like always!! HOW MUCH MONEY DID YOU REALY SAVE IN THE LONG RUN? or get credit for saving the USPS Potter, I sure hope you can sleep at night, OF COURSE YOU CAN, YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT ANYBODY BUT YOURSELF!!!!
More of the same, The NEW PMG will pick up where Potter left off, CUTS, CUTS, and more CUTS… How will things ever change when neither one of them had any NEW IDEAS to GROW the SERVICE? They should have made a clean sweep @ H. Q. and get some real Talent in there that have BUSINESS SKILLS, that put the “CUSTOMER FIRST” not give all of these people these jobs because you owe somebody a favor or whatever… There should NEVER be 20 people in line with only 1 person working the window…Word of mouth can make or break a Business and when you have BAD SERVICE LIKE THIS! it’s now wonder we are getting a bad name and losing business, WAKE UP!!!
Potter was Forced to retire, before he was ” FIRED” It’s just to bad he wasn’t FIRED and put in JAIL… For LYING and SABOTAGE, years ago they fired about 5or 6 people of sabotage of the old LSM machines, he did it all across the Country! Think about how much the Post Office is going to spend on his retirement party, When we bust our A$$ all year, and with Christmas coming up, were about to get our butts kicked, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK THE P.O. IS GOING TO GIVE US??? Hurry up, we have more mail, your not moving fast enough, I don’t care if it’s unsafe and don’t worry about your fellow co-worker who NEVER does any work, YOU PICK UP THEIR SLACK!!!!!! and quit COMPLAINING, I’m trying to get my BONUS OPPS, I mean Pay for YOUR PROFORMANCE!!!! We can’t even get a freak-in bag of popcorn.
will his job go up for bid?
It’s about time “Harry” Potter moved aside – of course, one of his “cronies” will slide into the job and continue the same old postal BS!! Too many damned chiefs and eliminate as many jobs as you can, so the WORKERS have to do more in the same amount of time. The p.o. wants to save even more money than “Harry” supposedly helped them save?? – slash half of the management jobs, as they don’t do a damned thing anyway!!!!!
Retire, chickshit, can’t find any other way to run the post office into the ground!
What about the billions that the “NRP ” complaint will cost, what about that Jackie?
Where is the money from the retirement funds over payments ? How come there isn’t an investigation ? He should go to jail before he gets to retire…..Who is responsible for misappropriating USPS money ? What account manager transferred these funds ? Oh, I should say what INCOMPETENT transferred these funds….Or, just maybe the USPS was attempting to hide money so they can RAPE US in negotiations. Congress really should be investigating ALL of this. Oh, I forgot that, too. They’re more worried about getting reelected.
I believe now that his job is going to be vacant, it is time for the job to be reverted as it is not really needed. Nothing was being done while the position was filled.
The Postal Board is largely composed of Bush appointees, so, no doubt, the next postmaster will be as much of a treasure as the last, and as was Henderson, before him.
This is the worst run corporation in the US, simply because of a stunning lack of leadership and a total lack of team building skills. The pernicious culture of screw the worker, because they’re there, and because you can, is emphasized as a style of effective management. Cronyism and nepotism are always to be favored, and the only ones expected to follow the rules are the rank and file.
Management, when asked about a postal rule that they are required to follow, or a directive from L’Enfant Plaza, will say….duh…I think I maybe saw that on my laptop, but I just can’t recall what it said. Translation: I’m the Plant Mgr and can do whatever I want, and no one can tell me different. And the listening EEO judge just smiles…….because its true.
But, you know, unlike the retirement-eligibles across the country who are being forced, threatened and harassed into retirement, Mr. Potter had no such harassment. He had finally filled his great big pockets with enough loot that he’ll be quite comfortable for his remaining years. He’ll miss the snazzy limo and driver, but he can hire his own with all that loot.
The rank and file are decent, honest, hard-working people, who would just like to do their job and go home, but noooooo, they are management’s targets for torture and amusement, oh yes, and advancement, because, if they’re not handing out discipline, they’re not doing their job. “Needs of the service?” Ptoooooey.
The USPS needs an entire reconstruction, beginning at the top, by someone who knows how to run a corporation, not create a nut house and a hellhole.
Good riddance, he has drove this company into a hole it may never be able to get out of, Yet he will not only get his retirement pay but he will receive payments on delayed salary due to the federal government salary caps, so we well continue to have him leaching off the stamp customers for years to come, and his replacement, more the same. As I have said before the President should have fired the entire governing board and replaced it with people who understood the mandate the USPS operates under. Instead we just get another PMG who will be lead around by the mailing industry. And no, I am not disgruntled craft employee but a disgruntled manager.
“You have been a steadying and far-sighted leader throughout a period of dynamic change in America’s use of the mail and during times of economic uncertainty,” Giuliano said. “The hallmark of your success was your ability to build respectful relationships with all stakeholders, customers and employees that built a trusted level of credibility. We unreservedly regard your tenure as one of great accomplishment.”
Ha Ha Ha Ha….thanks for the good laugh this morning!!!
Thank the Lord the PMG John E. Potter had the courage to retire instead of waiting until he’s fired. I do think it’s long over due. However, God bless him!
Wait! They forgot to add to his list of accomplishments, that he single-handedly drove a monopoly into a hole, and met his yearly goal of losing billions of dollars each year. Glad he’s gone. When is the going away party for this looser?
Too bad Potter will never be prosecuted for his criminal actions. Like no bid contracts and placing his buddies in high paying jobs. Now lets see what lobbying firm hires him.
I think that “Doomsday” Jack Potter is getting credit for numbers without a close examination of the bottom line.
: Potter is leaving with the USPS going under
: under his control there have been numerous financial and personnel scandals; most of which happened at headquarters.
: many of the alleged “savings” are currently due to the lack of service and the enforcement of service standards and the breaking of postal regulations.
: having a disenfranchised workforce that is being beat into the ground by overwork to attain those numbers is hardly responsible leadership.
: having to have the Office of Inspector General audit all phases of your company to determine where the company stands; and then finding out that most of your operation is failing or needs remediation is hardly a glowing recommendation of your time as Postmaster General.
It’s about time! Well over due. So the credit, I mean blame is finally being acknowledged at the top? So are we finally seeing the “what goes around, comes around”??? Let’s see some more dramatic changes happen at the top branches of management, and trickle on down to the lower branches of management. We the craft employees are tired of taking the blame for managements ignorant decisions. We are the ones who do all the work, and more and more of it everyday because of all the reverting of jobs. They expect us to run a DBCS machine alone and still get the mail out on time and accurately. Can’t happen! Too many bosses and hardly any craft employees. Time to get back to basics….SERVICE, SERVICE, SERVICE!!!! and throw in a smile to let them know our customers are appreciated.
Good bye and good riddance to another postal failure. 20 billion in cuts and 200,000 in personnel downsize and the postal service is still going down the drain. Can you say “privatize”? I knew you could! Good job general from one of the troops? How pathetic!
Good riddens you JACK WAGGON! Go back to PAMBYWAMBY LAND!!!
The most effective Postmaster General in my 20 years at the Post Office. The former Postmaster(Henderson) was one of the least effective. Potter’s stats speak for themselves: 20 billion in cuts and a decrease of 200,000 personal with increased production. I believe he may be retiring because of politics of trying to change to 5 day delivery. Good Job General, from one of your troops.
I hope they have another trained jackass to take his place . Oh wait management is full of them ! Maybe they can wipe the toilet seat at headquarters and clone another one . I bet there will be a mass murder at headquarters to get that job . Everyone will be stabbing each other in the back to get that job ! I wonder if he will have to wait 6 months to get his retirement check like all the little people ?