Articles
LeaderSHIP
Average Is for Other People
Derek Leathers embarked on his first big business venture when he was 12 years old. The scene was the circus, where his stepfather helped him get a job selling popcorn up and down the aisles. MORE TO THE STORY: Call Him Coach “They weren’t able to employ me officially, but I got to keep whatever […]
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The Son Also Rises
Chuck Wall never pressured his son Ryan to enter the family business, FHI (Freight Handlers, Inc.). But in 1998, as the young man’s college graduation drew near, he asked his father for advice about the future. Chuck Wall painted a tempting picture: “If you apply yourself, within a year or two you could be a […]
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From Top Waffle to Top Rhino
MORE TO THE STORY: Racing to Make A Difference Kevin Nolan fell in love with the excitement of the freight brokerage floor the day he walked into a C.H. Robinson office, as a college senior, to interview for a job. “I loved the energy, the camaraderie among teammates,” he says. Having played lots of team […]
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Leadership: Fashion Leader
How does a retail supply chain resemble the infrastructure of a nuclear submarine? We don’t know, but Brent Beabout sure does. He spent 13 years as an active-duty U.S. naval officer, a career that culminated in the role of engineering officer on one of those powerful undersea vessels. Then he moved on to some major […]
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Finding the Right Strategy for Each Situation
Denis Reilly’s father worked in distribution for 38 years. So when Reilly started college at the University of Tennessee, it was no surprise that he was drawn toward that school’s renowned logistics program. “It was a natural fit,” he says. “Even some of my summer jobs were in logistics, with Union Carbide.” MORE TO THE […]
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BluJay Solutions CEO Doug Braun:
Leading with Compassion and Conviction
It has been a busy year at BluJay Solutions. In 2016, the supply chain software company, known then as Kewill, acquired another technology player, LeanLogistics. In March 2017, the combined companies rebranded as BluJay Solutions and debuted an innovative new software platform model, the BluJay Global Trade Network. Soon after, BluJay acquired Blackbay, a provider […]
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Betting the Farm on YRC’s Success
James Welch has worked for YRC Worldwide for nearly his whole career. At 23 years old, he joined what was then Yellow Freight System as a sales representative in Houston. Over the next 29 years, he took on a series of management positions with increasing levels of responsibility. MORE TO THE STORY: Safety First Welch […]
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Empowering the Shipper
After more than 14 years in the trucking industry—at USF Group and Central Freight Lines—Dan Clark decided it was time for a change, both for himself and for the shipping community. MORE TO THE STORY: The Parking Spot Lesson Trucking companies were depending on legacy information systems, often inherited through corporate acquisitions, that couldn’t share […]
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REO Logistics CEO Rebecca Polan: In Line to Succeed
Rebecca Polan was working toward a career in the not-for-profit world when she realized she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life. Her father, Lake Polan, the third-generation leader of a family logistics and real estate firm, urged her to work for him for one year. “He said, ‘No harm if you […]
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From the Front Lines to the Boardroom
David Congdon was 14 when he joined the family business: less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Old Dominion Freight Line. “I started working on the dock in the summer,” he says. “Making $1.65 an hour beat the heck out of a $3 weekly allowance.” MORE TO THE STORY: Next Step: Advanced Algorithms At 16, Congdon started traveling to […]
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