Herbert-Michael Zapf is leading IPC into a new stage of development. He became president and chief executive officer in May 2006, joining IPC from Germany’s privatised Postal operator, Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN) where he spent 10 years in senior management positions.

Dr. Zapf is an economist and strategic development expert. He is building on IPC’s expertise in quality measurement, operations upgrading and intercompany pricing to create an industry organisation that translates in-depth, high-level discussion on strategic issues into business intelligence for Postal operators.

At DPWN, Dr. Zapf was executive vice-president and divisional board member with responsibility for import and export mail, international marketing, international relations, and commercial relationships with other Postal operators.

Prior to joining DPWN, he was head of department at Deutsche Telecommunications Consulting (DETECON) working on international strategy, regulation and the organisation of postal and telecommunication companies. He also worked in Latin America for the United Nations/International Labour Organisation and in Luxembourg for the European Parliament.

Dr. Zapf studied economics and political science at the universities of Mannheim, Hamburg and the London School of Economics. He graduated from the University of Paris IX Dauphine and earned his doctorate at the University of Kassel, where his studies focused on the role of institutions in the development process.