Former President & Chief Executive Officer, Waste Management
Search every verified David Steiner interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. David Steiner, who became the 76th Postmaster General in July 2025, discussed his background and vision for the United States Postal Service on the agency's podcast, "Mailin' It." He described growing up as the seventh of eight children, which he said taught him the importance of teamwork and making people feel valued. Steiner noted that he previously turned down a job at Enron to join Waste Management, calling himself "the living walking embodiment of better lucky than good." Steiner outlined his strategy for the Postal Service, stating that "we can't cost cut our way into profitability" and that the organization must "grow volume" in the package industry. He acknowledged that the Postal Service is "playing catch-up" in the package business but said it has a "natural advantage in the last mile and in the first mile." Steiner also remarked that in the public sector, unlike at a shareholder-owned company, every dollar earned can be reinvested into the organization and its people.
“We can't cost cut our way into profitability. We can get part of the way there, but we aren't going to get the whole way there. So, we have to grow. We have to grow volume. And when we grow volume, we're growing in the package industry.”
“The brand isn't that golden arch, right? The brand isn't that mail truck. The brand is the faces of the people in the company. There is no quote unquote brand of the United States Postal Service outside of its people.”
“My fear is that we're playing catch-up. We didn't get into the package business as early as our competition. We were still doing mail. So we need to really really really understand how we can best compete and then how we go about doing that.”
“If you don't complain, don't whine. If you see something wrong, let us know about it. There's only one way we can fix it, and that's if we know about it.”
The Postal Service is entering a new chapter under 76th Postmaster General David Steiner. In this conversation, he joins Mailin' It!
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