On March 8, Logistics Management’s John Schultz wrote that, “Analysts and trucking executives say that it isn’t a question of whether [LTL] rates will go up. It’s only a matter of how high those rates will climb in 2021.” Here’s a head-to-head look at how that prediction is unfolding based on several carriers’ most recent GRI announcements.
Steve Mitchell
Vice President Transport Services
Before joining AFS, he was Director of Procurement & Strategic Carrier Management at Transplace. In this role, Steve was responsible carrier sourcing, strategic account management procurement, carrier development, logistics analytics, and claims. Prior to Transplace, Steve was with M33 Logistics as VP of Procurement, ODFL/Vault Logistics as Director of Truckload, and American Standard as Director of Operations.
Steve is based in Greenville, SC and oversees employees in Tulsa, Shreveport, Atlanta, as well as Greenville. He lives in Greenville with his wife Stephanie and four children, Alecia, Brice, Chloe and Delanie.
Nathan Johnson
Chief Information Officer
Nathan has been a long-time leader in Information Technology and has been recognized by Information Week with multiple organizations. Prior to AFS, Nathan was Senior Vice President and CIO at Werner Enterprises. His tenure also includes time as Senior Vice President and CIO for Ports America, the largest US-based port operator, where his teams delivered major improvements in IT services and strategic technology investments. Nathan has also served as CIO with several logistics companies and consulted with Fortune 500 organizations. He holds a dual major in Transportation/Logistics and Computer Information Systems from Ohio State University.
Jeff Hoban
President Transportation Management
Jeff Hoban has over 35 years of experience as a shipper, wholesaler, asset provider and managed transportation / 3PL executive operator.
Before joining AFS, Jeff served as Senior Vice President of Transportation Management at Transplace. In this role, he directed Managed Transportation Services for the small to medium business unit encompassing customer service operations, freight management, strategic account management procurement, brokerage, carrier development, business analytics, logistics engineering and supply chain solutions. Prior to Transplace, Jeff served in executive leadership roles focusing on logistics and supply chain management at Johnson & Johnson, HJ Heinz North America, C&S Wholesale Grocers and CRST Logistics.
Based in Greenville, Jeff oversees daily operations, freight audit and all the transportation services departments. Jeff clearly has supply chain management in his blood as his two sons have both followed him into the industry. His youngest son is currently enrolled in the program at Penn State University where Jeff also attained his degree in business logistics. He and his wife Ann Marie reside in Greenville, SC.
Dean Jones
Chief Channel Development Officer
Dean joined AFS in 2008 as a Regional Sales Manager before moving into the position of VP of Sales, then VP of Client Partnerships and most recently Chief Channel Development Officer. He graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with his Bachelors of Business Administration, Marketing and Finance. After graduating, Dean transitioned into the world of transportation and logistics starting with UPS Parcel in 1989. After spending 4 years in the parcel business, he transitioned to Roadway Express, working in both operations and sales. In 1994, he took a management role with Nationsway Transport until 1999 when he then returned back to Roadway/YRC as a Corporate Account Executive and District Sales Manager.
Dean currently resides in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area with his wife and five children. In his spare time, he enjoys sports, being active in the local high school booster club, and spending time with family.
Scott Matthews
President Operating Companies
Scott joined AFS after spending 28 years in the business world working for both McKesson and APS as the Director of Plant Operations and Baker Mfg., Inc. as the Director of Purchasing and Inventory Control.
Scott graduated from Louisiana College with a degree in Business Management. He currently resides in the Shreveport area and has two children, Jake and Ashley, and four grandchildren, Caleb, Logan, Abigail and David. Scott likes to spend his off-hours either hunting, fishing, gardening or taking photos.
Chet Richardson
President LTL
Chet Richardson currently serves as our President of LTL services. Chet brings to AFS over 33 years of experience with Fortune 500 Carriers, where he had a proven record of leading teams comprised of operations, sales, technology, procurement, truckload operations and logistics. This experience lends to Chet’s extensive supply chain knowledge and the leadership ability to establish and execute a forward focused strategy. Also, he is well versed in the understanding of AFS clients and the carrier community that service our client needs.
Chet resides in Alpharetta, Ga., with his wife LaDonna. They have 3 children that have successfully fulfilled their educational aspirations and are performing jobs in customer service, human resources, and supply chain. A recent addition to the family was a welcomed joy in 2019, with a healthy grandchild.
Roberta Tamburrino
President
Freight Audit & Payment
Roberta is a recognized expert in freight audit and payment. Earlier in her career, she joined Schneider Payment Services, a division of Schneider National from a managing partner role in a consulting firm. She subsequently served in leadership roles at U.S. Bank Corporate Payment Systems (PowerTrack, later Syncada, freight payment solutions), GENCO Transportation (later FedEx) and Daycos, a payment services company focused on government business, before joining AFS as the President of Freight Audit and Payment Services.
In her 20+ year career, Roberta has lead large organizations, small powerhouse teams, multiple major initiatives, and has developed some of the best talent in the industry. She received her BSBA from University of Phoenix.
Roberta relocated to the Shreveport area from Chicago in 2019. She and her husband are proud grandparents and dog parents.
Scott Lord
President Parcel
Scott is currently the President for Parcel Services and joins AFS after more than 18 years working for UPS. In his most recent role, Scott was the head of Marketing for the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, DC markets for UPS. In prior roles at UPS, Scott led teams in a variety of functions within Marketing, including Pricing, New Product Development, Customer Technology and Product Ownership.
Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Villanova University’s School of Business and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.
He resides in Atlanta with his wife Caroline and children Charlotte and Bennett. Scott enjoys all sports, especially Villanova basketball.
Sheila Hewitt
Vice President
International Services
Sheila has more than 30 years of international transportation experience. She joined AFS in 2019 and is responsible for leading the global supply chain management team. In addition to running her own ocean forwarding company for several years, she has a strong background as an importer and in technology
Sheila served as Director of International for G-Log (Oracle), in addition to holding roles with Descartes and 13 years with Hong Kong based DSL Transportation Services. Her resume also includes apparel and retail experience with Federated Department Stores, Cluett Peabody and Oxford Industries. Her most recent position was leading global sales and operations for the Transplace International division for nearly a decade. She has participated as an industry speaker at events including Freight Transportation Research Associates Conference, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, Transpacific Maritime Association Conference and the Retail Industry Leaders Association. Sheila also serves as an expert international resource for notable publications: USA Today, Supply Chain Brain and The Journal of Commerce.
Scott Boyer
Chief Commercial Officer
Scott is currently the Chief Commercial Officer responsible for Inside and Outside Sales, Marketing and Account Management of AFS’ customers.
Prior to AFS, Scott held executive positions in general management and commercial roles at various full supply chain management companies such as Penske Logistics and Cat Logistics (now Neovia). At brokerage companies, he has also held the roles of President of Strive Logistics (now Redwood Logistics), Executive Vice President of Echo Global Logistics, Executive Vice President of PLS Logistics and Chief Commercial Officer of M33 (now Transplace).
Scott has more than 25 years in the transportation industry across the spectrum of full supply chain services on a domestic and global scale. He brings a wealth of knowledge and success in transforming organizations into high performing and high growth companies.
Elizabeth Blain
Vice President Global Parcel Services
Elizabeth is a senior business leader with over 25 year’s experience across sales leadership, product management and organizational change with Fortune 500 companies including Amazon and 20 years with FedEx. She has built strategic plans delivering top and bottom line growth through sales, go-to-market, process improvement, cost savings and organizational design initiatives. She has a proven track record of leadership experiences across several geographies including North America, Europe, UK, India, Middle East, South Africa and Asia.
Elizabeth holds B.S.B.A in both Marketing and Management from Appalachian State University. She is also a graduate from the Harvard Business School, FedEx Executive Leadership program. Currently working in our Atlanta office, she leads our International Parcel growth initiatives. During her spare time, Elizabeth can be found cycling, running or traveling the globe visiting family.
Joe Darwin
Vice President Parcel Logistics
Joe has over 25 years of parcel industry experience in both the carrier and 3PL environment. Joe joined AFS Logistics in January 2005 as Director of Parcel Services before moving into the Supply Chain Services sector and eventually Vice President of Parcel Logistics. Previously, Joe held several positions at DHL from 1994 to 2005 including Regional Sales, Forwarding and National Product Manager for Same Day in the southwest region focusing on the technology and automotive sectors. Joe works extensively with the AFS Sales and Technology departments in crafting internal and external analytic tools and partnering with clients in evaluating and implementing market-based solutions.
In his spare time, Joe enjoys playing tennis and restoring classic German automobiles.
Tom Nightingale
Chief Executive Officer
Tom is an accomplished leader, with a track record of working with high-growth transportation and logistics companies. Most recently, Tom served as President and CEO of International Package Shipping and its operating companies. Prior to International Package Shipping, he was president of GENCO Transportation Logistics, and was part of the leadership team that sold GENCO to FedEx where he then remained as an officer of FedEx. Tom also served as Chief Marketing Officer for Con-way Inc. (now XPO) and Vice President of Marketing with Schneider National.
Tom is also a frequent contributor to several trade and industry publications and speaker at global supply chain and logistics industry events. He serves on the board of several organizations, including Syracuse University’s Franklin Supply Chain Advisory Board and CSCMP. Tom earned a master’s degree in Business from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in Marketing Management from Siena College in Loudonville, New York.
He currently resides in Boston with his wife Lisa and daughters Meg and Lucy, while his oldest daughter Emma attends the University of California at Santa Barbara, CA. He is an avid rock climber and has traveled around the world for business and climbing. A few of his favorite places to climb are Krabi, Thailand and Fontainebleau, France.
Sharmen Pennington
Vice President Human Resources
Sharmen Pennington has over 19 years of experience in the transportation industry and has proven results of building teams comprised of Human Resources Management, Talent Management, Driver Services, Inside Sales, Account Management and Brokerage.
Before joining AFS, Sharmen served with non-profit organizations, nationwide, building hope through community projects. She has a passion for building people and company culture. She brings an inclusive perspective on the importance of talent management to organizational success, that will shape AFS’s continued transformation as a leader in our industry. Sharmen enjoys spending time with her family, volunteering with youth groups, and raising her dog “Trouble”.
Ben Townsend
Chief Executive Officer
Prior to AFS, Ben was CFO and part owner of Airflo Cooling Technologies. Ben also held the position of CFO at Trend Corporation and the Norris Division of Dover Corporation, a manufacturer of oilfield production equipment.
Ben is a leader in the implementation of new age technologies such as banking services, P-Card Programs and informal activity-based costing systems. Ben is a non-traditional accountant who focuses on supporting the organization as a high value-added function for the company stakeholders.
As part of the leadership team, Ben plays an integral role in the development and execution of a business strategy for strong growth revenue, earnings and profit margins. Under his leadership, the finance team has focused on reducing non-value added processes while supporting the business strategy. In his off-hours, Ben is an avid sailor and gardener. He and his wife of 45 years live in the Tulsa area and have 3 children and 5 grandchildren.
Mingshu Bates
Chief Analytics Officer
Mingshu has over 18 years of experience in Revenue Management and Pricing Analytics in both the transportation and payment processing industries. Most of Mingshu’s professional experience comes from 16 years at FedEx, where she led numerous strategic initiatives in parcel pricing and First Data Corp where she played a key role in leading the pricing analytics and restructuring of the company. Mingshu holds a B.A. in International Economics from Nankai University, China and M.A. degrees in Economics from the Ohio State University and the University of Toledo. Currently working in our Atlanta office, she is a proven leader, detailed problem solver and an excellent communicator with over 11 years of professional management experience. During her spare time, Mingshu enjoys spending time with her family as well as running, hiking and yoga.
Leslie Smith
Vice President
Account Management Services
Leslie earned a Masters of Business Administration from Louisiana State University in Shreveport and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Public Relations from Northwestern State University. She is a member of the Junior League of Shreveport-Bossier, volunteers with the PTA and was recently named a 40 Under 40 Honoree by the Young Professional Initiative of Northwest Louisiana. Leslie enjoys baseball, golden age Hollywood and spending time with her husband and three sons.
Brian J. Barker
Founder & Chairman
