J.B. Hunt is shuffling its leadership team ahead of an “eventual turn in the freight market,” the company CEO says.
Current Chief Operating Officer, Nick Hobbs, will now take over president of highway and final mile services from Brad Hicks. Brad Hicks will take over Hobbs’ former job as president of dedicated contract services. Hicks’ other role as Executive Vice President of People will be taken over by David Keefauver. The new positions will go into effect on December 1st, J.B. Hunt announced.
“We are in a position to deliver exceptional value for our customers and shareholders throughout our full suite of services, and these changes align the strengths and experience of our executives to lead and grow these services into the future,” said Shelley Simpson, president and CEO. “As we navigate current market dynamics and prepare for a return to more normal seasonal demand patterns, we anticipate a large addressable opportunity to capture additional market share and see greater returns on our strategic investments.”
“As we prepare for an eventual turn in the freight market, we have focused our entire organization on being operationally excellent and scaling our long-term investments to enable our company to generate appropriate returns that deliver shareholder value. The strength and resiliency of our organization is supported by our mode neutral approach and the consistency, tenure and expertise of our people and executive leadership team, and these moves address the potential we see across the company as we move into 2025,” said Simpson.
Hobbs will align efforts across the company and oversee the company’s maintenance and safety performance. Hicks will focus on expanding market size opportunities for the company. Keefauver will work on achieving greater efficiency across the company’s personnel groups.