Freight News, Logistics, People

JB Hunt Taps Simpson as President, CEO

[ April 5, 2024   //   Gary G Burrows ]

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. has named Shelley Simpson as president and CEO of the company, and has nominated her to serve on the company’s board of directions, effective July 1.
Simpson is the first woman to serve in the top position at J.B. Hunt, a leading motor carrier in what remains a male-dominated industry. She will join Carol Tomé, CEO of UPS, as the only women CEOs among the 10 largest for-hire carriers, based on Transport Topics’ 2023 ranking.
John N. Roberts III, outgoing CEO, will assume the role of executive chairman of the board, following the retirement of Kirk Thompson as outgoing executive chairman.
Simpson, 52, has served as the company’s president since August 2022. Her career at the North American trucking and supply chain services provider covers more than 30 years in a range of executive leadership roles.
Simpson in 2007 helped found Integrated Capacity Solutions, or ICS, and was named president of the business unit. She assumed sales and marketing executive responsibilities in 2011 as chief marketing officer and took on additional leadership roles in 2014 when she was named president of J.B. Hunt’s Truckload business segment. She was named chief commercial officer and president of Highway Services in 2017 and led the strategic direction and launch of the J.B. Hunt 360 platform. In 2020, she added responsibilities for people and human resources, and was named president in 2022.
Wayne Garrison will also retire from the board of directors and he and Roberts will take newly formed board advisory roles as honorary founding directors.
Creation of the honorary founding directors positions for Thompson, a director since 1985, and Garrison, a director since 1981, is to preserve the executives’ contributions. Thompson joined J.B. Hunt in 1973 and served as president and CEO from 1987 to 2010. Garrison joined the company in 1976, became president in 1982, CEO in 1985, and served as chairman from 1995 to 2010.
The changes are part of Arkansas-based J.B. Hunt’s succession planning and board development.
In January, J.B. Hunt’s board added Pat Ottensmeyer, former president and CEO of the Kansas City Southern Railroad, as a newly appointed independent director, following the addition in recent years of Thad Hill and Persio Lisboa as independent directors.

Tags: J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.