Joseph N Berg

Joe Berg, a visionary and revered leader in the international air freight industry for over 40 years passed away peacefully from natural causes on February 11, 2026 in Wilton, CT. He was 98 years old.
He is preceded in death by his brother Carl Berg and his sister Nancy Levy and is survived by his wife Renee (nee Neibart) of 73 years, his three sons, Jonathan of Santa Monica, CA, Donald of Danbury, CT (wife Kathleen), and Paul of Stamford, CT, two grandchildren Briana Rossi and Marcus Berg, and two Great Grandchildren, Donovan and Maren.
Born in Newport, Rhode Island on April 26, 1927, and raised in Wilmington, Delaware and Camden, New Jersey, the son of immigrant parents Morris and Pearl Berg, Joe excelled in languages and athletics, lettering in Football, Baseball and Track in High School.
A World War II veteran, Joe enlisted in the Army at the age of 18 in the spring of 1945 and served out his military service stateside at both Fort McClellan, Alabama and at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. After his military discharge in 1947 he attended the University of Richmond on a football scholarship where he went on to become an accomplished competitive weightlifter, winning gold medals in the 1947 and 1948 Virginia State Championships. He later transferred to Mexico City College to study Spanish, French, and Russian receiving his Bachelor's Degree in Romance Languages in 1950.
Returning from college his first job came as a salesman selling fishing reels for the Penn Fishing Tackle Company. But after his marriage to Renee Neibart in 1952 he transitioned to a job as an ocean and air export agent at the Peter A. Bernacki Company, a freight forwarding firm in Philadelphia where he worked from 1952 to 1955 when he then joined Air Express International (AEI) the largest freight forwarding company at the time becoming its District Manager in Philadelphia. In 1960 he was transferred to Idlewild Airport (JFK) to become Station Manager and then on to Frankfurt, Germany in 1963, to assume the role of Vice President for Europe, Africa, and The Middle East. He relocated with his family to Paris and then back to Frankfurt during the 1960s before returning to the US in 1969 to become the Vice President of Circle Air Freight. In 1973 he was hired back by Air Express International to become its President, a role he continued in until 1985.
Joe was a beloved leader, and a mentor to many throughout the Air Express family and diaspora. A multi-linguist with fluency in Spanish, French and German, and a working knowledge of Russian, he had the ability to communicate with nearly anyone, anywhere in the world.
He served in subsequent Presidents' roles again at Circle Air Freight, and then Dynamic Air freight before semi-retirement found him in various consultancy positions. In 1994 he became involved with the International Executive Service Corps (IESC), volunteering for overseas assignments in Cairo Egypt, Vladivostok, Russia and Kiev, Ukraine consulting on airport cargo facilities improvement projects. In 1998 he was the Hall of Fame Recipient for The International Air Cargo Association.
Joe was a longtime resident of Stamford, CT. He was a lifelong collector of rare US stamps and books on Africana. A shooting enthusiast and an avid hunter, he went on multiple safaris to Africa and Australia. His work and leisure repeatedly brought him to more than 75 countries across six continents.