Andrew Clarke will start June 6 as president of expedited ground operator Panther II Transportation in Medina, Ohio, after leaving the previous week as chief financial officer for Forward Air.

Clarke said he had been with Forward Air, the U.S. leader in airport-to-airport trucking of air freight, since April 2000. He became its CFO a year later.

Before that, he was an investment banker in Baltimore for Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown, and worked on some transportation projects.

Forward Air announced his pending departure on May 23, and named Rodney Bell as new CFO when Clarke leaves June 2.

Clarke said he is "focused on the opportunities" with Panther II, which he described as "a great company with a great management team." Daniel Sokolowski is its CEO.

The company's Web site lists a range of service offerings, focused on time-critical ground shipments door to door throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It also offers air freight charters "on planes from single-engine to the world's largest aircraft."

Its ground fleet uses owner-operator equipment as well as some company-owned vehicles, all with satellite tracking systems, and ranging from panel trucks to tractor-trailers and flatbeds.

John D. Boyd