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The road to the middle market CEO corner office is paved with mile markers that guide in surprising, unpredictable, and some might even say “mysterious” ways! But how do you get such a widely coveted position? This is the question often heard during decades of ROI’s executive search interviews, conducted with top-level executives. ROI’s Into the Corner Office podcast is a new inspiration and answer platform which premieres visionary tales of adventure with great endings and highlights, from powerhouse CEOs driving the formidable success of the U.S. economy’s middle market sector. The CEOs behind this impressive growth reveal insights which equipped them to lead their organizations. Showcasing dynamic leadership stories, Into the Corner Office dives into the heart of what informed and formed these CEOs. Guests share their backgrounds, talk about their early years, and explore what shaped them before they were known for their successes in growing, developing, and leading extraordinary mi...
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Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
Tom Schmitt, CEO, Forward Air
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
Tom Schmitt took on the role of President, CEO and Director at Tennessee-based Forward Air Corporation in September of 2018. He was elected Chairman of the Board in May 2019. Forward Air is a market leader in expedited pallet and truckload transportation across the U.S. It is Nasdaq-listed and has a strong track record of profitable growth. Prior to joining Forward Air, Tom served as a Management Board member for Schenker, a Freight Forwarding, Transportation, and Logistics company, operating in 140 countries with $20 billion in global revenues. He headed up a team of 22,000 in the Global Contract Logistics business, where his strong emphasis on continued and accelerated profitable growth paid off for the company. In his first two years, the division reached record revenue and profit levels and was awarded the “best Logistics brand in Germany,” as well as the prestigious parent company’s DB Award for Customer and Quality. In addition, as Chief Commercial Officer, Tom led Schenker AG’s global sales and marketing activities. In his first full year in this role, the company grew by more than 1 bn € – as much as in Schenker’s previous 10 years combined. Before joining Schenker, Tom led Aqua Terra, reporting directly to the Board as one of the company’s owners. Aqua Terra is Canada’s leading provider of natural spring water and Tom’s leadership transformed the company into a Canada-wide Nourishment company with an export business of its premium water. Tom served as CEO and director on the Board for Purolator, Canada’s top parcel and freight transportation company, and under his leadership, the company saw growth in the same year for both market share and profitability for the first time in more than 10 years. During Tom’s tenure, Purolator doubled its presence in the U.S. market and enhanced its penetration in small and medium business- es and retail segments with double-digit revenue growth. He also transformed the company into an industry leader in environmental stewardship with more hybrid vehicles than any other transportation company in the world. Purolator is a $1.6 billion company with 12,000 employees. Tom came to Canada with a proven track record in place after 12 years at FedEx in Memphis, where he served as CEO of FedEx Supply Chain, a FedEx operating company. He also led FedEx Solutions, a FedEx Services division that developed and executed specific and integrated turnkey supply chain customer solutions. Tom built the organization from a team of fewer than 50 employees in the late 1990s to more than 800 people in 2008. Tom holds an MBA as a Baker Scholar from Harvard Business School; as well as a Bachelor of Arts in European Business Administra- tion, First Class Honours, from Middlesex University. He was named one of the 100 most Influential Tennesseans by the BusinessTN Power 100. He is also the co-author of Simple Solutions, a successful management and leadership book that lays out simple and pragmatic tools to draw on both the analytical more creative sides. Now in its second printing, it was published by Wiley & Sons, the premier business publisher.
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