“THAT’S WHAT OUR COMPANY IS ABOUT: PEOPLE WORKING HARD AND SOLVING CUSTOMER PROBLEMS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE EVERY DAY.”
—JUDY MCREYNOLDS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ARKANSAS BEST CORPORATION
“Arkansas has a strong history
in trucking (because of its) entre- preneurial environment,” she added. “Arkansas Best was the most profession- ally run company that I experienced. I knew what the company was like in 1997 when I walked in (chairman and CEO) Robert Young III’s office and he had a sign on his desk that read: ‘No Surprises.’ “Robert wanted to do it the
right way, in way he had control,” McReynolds added. “His approach to people is he put good people in place where they would make a difference and let them do the job.”
THROUGH THE RANKS From 2006-2010, McReynolds
served as senior vice president and CFO for Arkansas Best, directing the treasury, accounting and executive com- pensation functions for the company, as well as shareholder and investor rela- tions. She ascended to the chairman and CEO posts three years ago “What I see from Judy is she is
clearly head and shoulders above her competition in the world of financial management and focus on balance sheet and income statements,” the NIT League’s Carlton said. “The trucking company is just one part of Arkansas Best’s portfolio. She has a solar system of companies she’s responsible for keep- ing going during these difficult times.” Slagle has held virtually every sig-
nificant job in sales, operations and management in his 35 years at ABF. Currently ABF president and CEO since
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Jan. 1, 2012, Slagle also served as senior vice president of sales and marketing, vice president administration and trea- surer, vice president and treasurer and regional vice president of sales. Slagle’s early years with the company included a variety of field operations positions in Ohio and Pennsylvania as well. Together, McReynolds and Slagle
are in the midst of transforming ABF from strictly a long-haul LTL carrier to a company capable of handling most any transportation solution. This work has been achieved by a
strong effort toward diversification of its parent company as well. ABF once provided as much as 95 percent of the revenue of its parent. Today, that figure is around 80 percent. Like nearly every other LTL car-
rier and holding company, the Great Recession battered Arkansas Best as ABF coped with a sharp dropoff in freight volumes as well as a fierce LTL price war designed to try and force some large LTL carriers out of business. Arkansas Best’s share price on the
New York Stock Exchange, once in the single digits, has nearly tripled in the past year. It recently closed on a $180 million purchase of expedited carrier Panther Expedited Services in 2012, a significant acquisition that allows Arkansas Best to compete in the lucra- tive expedited freight market place. On the labor front, Slagle and
McReynolds oversaw a 6.5 percent wage concession through negotiations covering 7,500 of its Teamsters-covered employees. That wage concession,
designed to be temporary, is seen by trucking analysts as essential in restor- ing ABF’s financial health and helping align its expenses with its major com- petitors in the LTL landscape. “Here was a company that was
clearly really struggling,” Carlton explained. “It was rough. We all could see it. “But they focused on the market
essentials, which is service for their customers. They didn’t lose touch with their customers as they were struggling with large, macro problems, not the least of which was their labor issues with IBT. It’s not yet resolved, but they’ve made tremendous progress.”
MENTORS ALONG THE WAY Slagle said recently that through his
35 years at ABF he has come in contact with so many great people, including former chairmen Robert Young Jr. and Robert Young III: “We just celebrated our 90th anniversary at ABF,” he said. “When we celebrate our 110th, 120th anniversaries, hopefully I will have paid back the people who preceded me.” McReynolds says what drives her is
that feeling of accomplishment when a problem is solved or a customer is satis- fied.
“I am driven to work hard and
accomplish things,” she said. “At the end of day, if I haven’t accomplished something, I’m a frustrated person. “I look to make a difference,”
McReynolds added. “That’s what our ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 5 2013
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