The U.S. Postal Service’s Board of Governors named William J. Henderson the 71st Postmaster General on May 12, the day after the Postal Rate Commission announced its recommended decision on the rate case.
Henderson, currently the USPS’ chief operating officer and executive vice president, will replace Marvin Runyon, who resigned to return to the private sector after six years in office. Runyon leaves his post May 15, and Henderson will become the new PMG effective May 16.
Henderson is the first postal employee to serve as PMG in the past 12 years. The last postal employees who served as PMG were Paul N. Carlin in 1985 and William F. Bolger in 1978.
“In Bill Henderson, we have a man who is no stranger to the postal service and the mailing industry,” said Sam Winters, chairman of the board of governors. “His career spans 26 years of wide-ranging postal operations and more than qualifies him to lead the postal service into the 21st century.”
Although rumors circulated over the past several weeks that Michael S. Coughlin, deputy postmaster general, would take over, most major mailers and mailing associations are pleased with the decision and think that, unlike Coughlin, Henderson has hands-on experience working with the employees of the postal service and participating in its massive operations.
“Bill is a polished professional with the type of energy and experience to effectively lead the postal service into the next century,” said Neal Denton, executive director of Alliance for Nonprofit Mailers, Washington.
