Board of Governors Appoints Ron Bloom to Chairman

More changes are occurring at the top of the US Postal Service. During a meeting on Tuesday, February 9th, the USPS Board of Governors unanimously appointed Ron Bloom to succeed Robert Duncan as the chairman. The Governors also unanimously elected Roman Martinez IV to the vice chairman position. Robert Duncan previously served as chairman since September 2018, and will continue to serve his term as a governor on the board.

Ron Bloom’s Background

Prior to joining the Board of Governors, Bloom enjoyed a decorated career in both the private and public sectors. After graduating from Wesleyan University and Harvard Business School, he began his career in investment banking. Bloom then joined the National Association of Letter Carriers as a financial advisor in 2011. This position marked the beginning of his involvement with the Postal Service. The year after that, Bloom became Vice President of U.S. investment banking at Lazard. There, he also worked on behalf of USPS. Since 2016, Bloom has also served as Chairman and Managing Partner at Brookfield Asset Management in New York City.

Board of Governors’ Appointment of Bloom May Be First of Many USPS Shakeups Under President Biden

Interestingly enough (and perhaps of no coincidence), Bloom is a prominent member of the Democratic party, and even worked as a part of the Obama administration. There, he served as Senior advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury, as well as Assistant to the President for Manufacturing Policy.

Now that President Biden is in office and the Democrats have taken control of the Senate (with Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote), Bloom’s appointment may serve as an indicator of more leadership changes to come within the Postal Service. For many postal critics, USPS leadership changes are not just welcomed, but necessary. Prior to the 2020 election, a large portion of the American public expressed worry that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s ties with former President Trump incentivized him to deliberately create mail slowdowns that would tilt the election in Trump’s favor.

This, of course, did not happen. However, many postal critics are still calling for DeJoy’s removal, and are looking at Bloom’s recent appointment as a sign of USPS leadership moving further in this direction.