XPO Logistics Inc. XPO -1.77 % says that Hervé Montjotin, chairman and chief executive of the company’s European arm, has resigned three months after coming into the business with XPO’s acquisition of Norbert Dentressangle SA GND -1.21 % .  Chief Operating Officer Troy Cooper was appointed to lead XPO Logistics Europe while retaining the global COO position, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. XPO said Mr. Cooper resigned from the Norbert Dentressangle supervisory board in accordance with governing regulations.  “Hervé is a great executive, but we both agreed that the organizational chart would be more effective if it was leaner and didn’t have an extra layer of management,” XPO Chief Executive and Chairman Bradley Jacobs said in an emailed statement, adding, “We manage the organization in a highly integrated way.”  Shares in XPO Logistics declined about 70 cents a share, or 2%, to $33.75 in trading on Friday, and were off about 33% from the 2015 high of $50.56 set in late May.  Mr. Montjotin, formerly chief executive of Norbert Dentressangle, had led XPO Logistics Europe since XPO completed the acquisition of the France-based trucking and freight brokerage company in June.  XPO, which has scaled up its U.S. logistics and freight brokerage in a series of acquisitions, sharply expanded in Europe this year with its $3.53 billion purchase of Norbert Dentressangle. Mr. Jacobs has said the company would move quickly to rebrand the France operation under the XPO banner.  XPO said Friday that no other former Norbert Dentressangle leaders were departing. The company said that Mr. Montjotin also had signed a non-compete clause in his contract with XPO.  Some analysts question whether the company will be able to successfully integrate its many acquisitions, particularly traditional operators like Norbert Dentressangle, which offers relatively few services that overlap with XPO’s existing business.  The acquisition in France is the biggest in a series of buys that have taken XPO from about $100 million in revenue in 2009 to $2.4 billion last year.  Mr. Cooper and Mr. Jacobs have worked together for roughly 20 years, with Mr. Cooper serving in senior management roles at two companies Mr. Jacobs founded, United Rentals Inc. URI -2.58 % and United Waste Systems Inc. WM -0.70 %  The acquisition strategy is familiar to both executives. United Waste Systems Inc. acquired more than 200 trash collection businesses before Jacobs sold it to USA Waste Systems Inc. for $1.7 billion in 1997. And United Rentals Inc. became one of the largest equipment rental companies in the world under Mr. Jacobs’s leadership, with a market value or more than $11 billion.  Write to Erica E. Phillips at erica.phillips@wsj.com
Former Norbert Detressangle CEO Hervé Montjotin quit as head of XPO Logistics in Europe three months after XPO acquired the French trucking company.