Fortna president John A. White III adds CEO to title

Supply chain consulting firm Fortna Inc. has handed the chief-executive reins to 20-year logistics-industry veteran and company president John A. White III.

White has been with the company since 2006 and has worked as president since 2010, helping push the Reading, Pa.,-based Fortna to quadruple its revenue during his tenure. He also guided its global expansion into Mexico, Latin America, and the Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) region and grew its client base to serve major brands such as L.L.Bean Inc., Sony Corp., and Burlington Coat Factory.

Former CEO Peter Counihan will stay with Fortna, retaining his position as chairman of the board to focus on key client and associate interactions, while continuing to shift the day-to-day operations to White, the company announced Monday. Counihan purchased Fortna in 1988 and transformed the company from a material handling equipment integrator to a professional-services and engineering firm.

In his new position, White is expected to follow the same tactics that have sparked the company's recent growth, such as making significant infrastructure investments in systems, methodologies, and research and development activities to drive innovation.

"Fortna has great opportunities ahead. We'll keep marching forward on the strategic path we've chosen, focused on client service and being an accountable partner for delivering their business case for change, serving new geographies, and continuing to provide distribution-operations thought leadership," White said in a release.

"Look for even more changes as we continue to strive for more innovative ways to help our clients turn their distribution operations into a competitive advantage," said White.

Before joining Fortna, White gained experience from more than 20 years serving in executive positions with supply chain consulting and software firms, including Capgemini LLC, Manugistics Inc., and Accenture.

White also received the DC Velocity 2013 Rainmakers award, and took that opportunity to ascribe his success in the supply chain profession to lessons learned around the dinner table from his father, an early leader in career-focused material handling education at Georgia Tech.

As he begins this new opportunity to apply those lessons to the future of Fortna, White received a vote of confidence from his predecessor.

"Under John's leadership, Fortna has grown stronger in every way," Counihan said in a release. "We are stronger financially and have a great management team. We have raised the level of professionalism of the company. And yet we have been able to retain the culture that is at the core of our success—one that puts our clients' interests first."