YRC Worldwide Promotes Wicks to President

The board of YRC Worldwide named Chief Operating Officer Timothy A. Wicks president of the trucking giant last week, a vote of confidence in Wick's handling of the company's financial crisis. William D. Zollars remains chairman and CEO of the struggling company.

It was the second promotion for Wicks within a month; He was named chief operating officer Oct. 5, after serving as executive vice president and chief financial officer. He joined the company in September 2008 from UnitedHealthcare, where he was senior vice president for strategic growth.

The company did not announce the promotion, but it was mentioned in the company's 8K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It's a rapid rise for an executive who came to YRC Worldwide with no background in the trucking industry. Many observers consider Wicks likely to succeed Zollars if YRC Worldwide is able to avoid bankruptcy in the coming year.

Wicks joined UnitedHealthcare in 2002. Prior to that, he was director of global business strategy for Dell and co-founder and president of Great Northern Capital.

Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com.