OREANDA-NEWS. UPS announced the Board of Directors named Rodney (Rod) C. Adkins, senior vice president of Corporate Strategy at IBM, a company director effective immediately.

Adkins will serve on the Audit Committee and his appointment expands the UPS board to 13 directors. He will stand for election to a regular one-year term at UPS's annual shareholders' meeting in May 2014.

Adkins, 54, has more than 30 years of experience at IBM leading global teams, managing multi-billion dollar business units and delivering a vast portfolio of product innovations and enterprise solutions.

“Rod's experience as a senior executive at one of the world's largest innovation and technology companies will be important to UPS as we execute our transformative, global strategies,” said Scott Davis, UPS Chairman and CEO. “His perspective on strategy, manufacturing and supply chain management, engineering, technology development, and operations, will be important as UPS advances innovative solutions to our customers.”

Adkins was previously the senior vice president for the Systems and Technology Group, which encompassed all aspects of IBM's semiconductor, server, storage and system software. The company's Integrated Supply Chain organization and Global Business Partners organization also reported to him.

He has also held a number of product management and executive roles at IBM, including running the Desktop PC and UNIX Systems businesses. He was general manager of Pervasive Computing, which under his leadership developed software assets that are part of IBM's Smarter Planet portfolio.

Adkins was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2005 and is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and the National Society of Black Engineers, which in 2001 awarded him the Golden Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Industry. He has a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech and an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

He is an active volunteer and community leader, serving on boards at several colleges and universities, as well as the boards of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements made in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of UPS and its management regarding the company's strategic directions, prospects and future results, involve certain risks and uncertainties. Certain factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including economic and other conditions in the markets in which we operate, our competitive environment, increased security requirements, strikes, work stoppages and slowdowns, changes in energy prices, governmental regulations and other risks discussed in the company's Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which discussions are incorporated herein by reference.