HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN TRUCKING AND IN YOUR CURRENT POSITION?
After graduating from Auburn University, I worked for Carr, Riggs and Ingram, a CPA firm specializing in group self-insured and captive programs. In 1992, I became the financial vice president of the Alabama Rural Electric Association and created a group self-insured program for their 23 electric cooperatives. I moved to the Alabama Trucking Association at the end of 1995 as CEO of their group self-insured program.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WORK TOWARD A LEADERSHIP ROLE?
My parents instilled in all their children a good work ethic and a burning desire to be successful in everything we did. I see this as an opportunity to achieve great things and give back to the people who work with you, and most importantly, the people whom we have the opportunity to serve and represent.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE?
In a simple phrase: “We will not fail.” You work harder and longer than anyone else, hire employees and management who embrace this philosophy, continuously try to teach and train them to be successful and then get out of their way so they can be successful.
Everyone should know their own weaknesses and hire people who are strong in the areas of their weaknesses and vice-versa. I could not have found anyone who is a better fit for me and does a more tremendous job than our COO, Todd Hager.
HOW HAVE CHANGES IN THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY IMPACTED YOUR WORK?
The ATA Comp Fund has grown from a program that served mainly smaller trucking companies to being the primary provider of coverage to trucking companies in the state of Alabama. We also provide coverage to some of the largest companies with operations all across the country.
Originally, our intention was to write the coverage for companies domiciled in Alabama that had operations outside the state. However, when larger trucking companies purchased Alabama companies in our program, we began to provide coverage for all their states of operation, including their home domiciled state. As these companies grew and changed their operations, our program had to evolve to meet their needs.
We developed risk-sharing programs, grew our underwriting and risk manager teams, and ultimately separated this program from the ATA Comp Fund to create Alliance Interstate Risk (AIR). GMTA partners with AIR to provide these programs to its members.
HOW DO YOU APPROACH STRATEGIC PLANNING?
Our process is an integrated model where we value the insights of our department directors who interact with all our employees and third-party business partners on a daily basis. Todd Hager and I meet with each department director individually and as a team to discuss long-term objectives and to assess opportunities and needs, which we then formalize into our staffing and budgetary requirements with a three-to-five-year focus.
The final and most important item that we discuss is our infrastructure needs in our various states of operation. We believe our original model for Alabama is what made us successful, and we need to duplicate this model in each state and trucking association that we partner with.
WHAT ARE YOUR COMPANY’S GOALS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?
While the ATA Comp Fund still has opportunities to grow in the state of Alabama, the ultimate goal is to expand the number of companies participating in each state trucking association program through AIR, provide financial support to strengthen the voice of the industry and return all profits generated back to the companies participating in the program.
LEADERSHIP CAN BE STRESSFUL. WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT?
My first principle is always to do the right thing. This is a guiding principle in how we make decisions in such a competitive business. It can be stressful, but I love what I do. I work with great people and have two great and devoted boards of directors and trustees. I am as passionate today about pursuing and creating successful programs as I was when I accepted this position.
Our goals are to serve our participating companies, to keep our cost of coverage as cost effective as possible and, most importantly, to make sure that every employee, owner-operator or independent contractor is cared for when injured or gets home safely to their family every single day. That is a goal worth striving for, even if there is some stress along the way.
HOW DO YOU GROW YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS?
While the people that I have encountered and worked with do not have professorships or doctorates, they have been some of the smartest and most caring people I have had the immense pleasure to learn from. In addition, I am like a sponge when it comes to articles and presentations that I have read or attended in my career.
HOW DO YOU STAY ON TOP OF YOUR GAME?
I challenge myself to grow our programs to the best of my abilities every day, and to serve our industry with unconditional passion to make it the strongest and best that it can be. Trucking, our allied companies and the people who are a part of them are now a part of me.
