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J.B. Hunt CEO to step down

Head of carrier's dedicated unit takes over Jan. 1.

Mark Solomon
By Mark SolomonOct 28, 2010
Mark Solomon
Mark Solomon joined DC VELOCITY as senior editor in August 2008, and was promoted to his current position on January 1, 2015. He has spent more than 30 years in the transportation, logistics and supply chain management fields as a journalist and public relations professional. From 1989 to 1994, he worked in Washington as a reporter for the Journal of Commerce, covering the aviation and trucking industries, the Department of Transportation, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he worked for Traffic World for seven years in a similar role. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Solomon ran Media-Based Solutions, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. He graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in journalism from The American University in Washington, D.C.
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Truckload and intermodal services giant J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced late Thursday that CEO Kirk Thompson would be stepping down Dec. 31 from the job he has held for 23 years.

Thompson, who will become chairman of J.B. Hunt on Jan.1, will be succeeded as CEO on that date by John N. Roberts III, a 21-year Hunt executive and currently head of the company's dedicated contract services division.

During his tenure, Thompson led the Lowell, Ark.-based giant through its transition from truckload carrier to intermodal services company with strong relationships with the nation's railroads. He also led a major push into dedicated truckload services, the unit his successor now heads.

In its third-quarter results released in mid-October, Hunt reported that its intermodal and dedicated units generated $791 million of the $986 million in total revenue in the quarter.

Analysts said the move had been telegraphed for some time and that the transition should occur with no disruptions.

ArticleTruckingRailTransportation
j.b. huntnovember 2010
ArticleTruckingRailTransportation
j.b. huntnovember 2010

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