Greg C. Gantt to Become Chief Executive
Officer
David S. Congdon to Become Executive
Chairman
Earl E. Congdon to Become Senior Executive
Chairman
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (Nasdaq: ODFL) today announced
that its Board of Directors, as part of its designed succession
plan, has approved strategic leadership changes that provide
continuity for both its executive leadership team and the Company’s
long-term strategy. Effective May 16, 2018, Greg C. Gantt has
been elected to serve as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer,
succeeding David S. Congdon, who has served as Chief Executive
Officer since January 2008 and Vice Chairman of the Board of
Directors since May 2015. Mr. Gantt, who will also retain his
current title of President, originally joined the Company as a
Regional Vice President in 1994 and has assumed ever-increasing
roles and responsibilities over the past 24 years.
Also effective May 16, 2018, David S. Congdon will become
Executive Chairman of the Board, succeeding current Executive
Chairman Earl E. Congdon, who will transition to the role of Senior
Executive Chairman on the same date. Mr. Earl Congdon and Mr. David
Congdon will both remain executive officers of the Company.
Earl Congdon said, “A big part of Old Dominion’s success has
been our consistent approach to operating with a long-term
perspective, and today’s announcement reflects our Board’s
thoughtful approach to timely and careful succession planning. We
are fortunate to have a remarkable team, and we are committed to
developing leaders from within as part of our unique culture. This
culture - our OD Family Spirit - has been cultivated for decades
and is critical to our long-term performance. Greg’s promotion to
Chief Executive Officer and David’s election to Executive Chairman
reflect their demonstrated commitment to preserving our culture,
our core values and our business strategy. I could not be prouder
of what we have accomplished nor more excited about our future. It
has been a privilege and an honor to chair our Board of Directors,
and I look forward to continuing to actively participate in the
strategic initiatives that have consistently bolstered the
performance of our Company while serving in my new role as Senior
Executive Chairman. I wish Greg continued success in his new
combined role as President and Chief Executive Officer, and I
especially want to thank David for his years of visionary
leadership and relentless execution that have driven our
transformational growth and strong market position.”
“We are thrilled to announce this carefully designed leadership
transition at an exciting time for our Company as we continue to
deliver strong results,” said David Congdon. “Today’s announcement
exemplifies the Company’s strategic approach to long-term
succession planning and underscores the tradition of management
continuity that has shaped Old Dominion into the organization it is
today. I’d especially like to take this opportunity to thank Earl
for his guidance and mentorship of this Company’s leaders for over
six decades. We have all benefited from Earl’s tireless commitment
and determination to make this Company what it is today, and it is
difficult for me to fully express how grateful all of us are for
what he has done for Old Dominion. Earl has been, and will remain,
the backbone of our OD Family Spirit. We look forward to his
insight, leadership, and continued commitment to Old Dominion for
years to come.”
Mr. David Congdon continued, “On behalf of our Board of
Directors and the entire Company, we are proud of Greg’s numerous
contributions and his accomplishments within our organization and
our industry. Greg has consistently demonstrated that he is a
visionary leader and a steward of the Company’s unique culture. We
are confident that under his leadership, and with the continued
support of our Board and our dedicated family of employees, the
Company will continue to innovate, evolve, and grow in the years to
come. Serving our Company as its Chief Executive Officer has truly
been an honor - but rest assured that I will continue to serve with
the same enthusiasm, dedication and commitment to this Company in
my new role as Executive Chairman. I am grateful for the
opportunity to continue to work with the best team in the industry
and look forward to many more accomplishments in the future.”
Greg Gantt said, “I am humbled by the opportunity to lead this
great organization, and I look forward to working with our talented
team to continue to enhance our market position and drive continued
growth in shareholder value at Old Dominion. As David said, it
really is an honor to serve as this Company’s Chief Executive
Officer, and I appreciate the Board’s confidence in me to assume
this role. I would also like to add that we are fortunate to
continue to benefit from both David’s and Earl’s strategic
oversight and institutional knowledge as they assume their new
roles. These well-respected legends in the trucking industry have
been a critical part of the Company’s success, and we are pleased
that they will remain actively involved in guiding and advising
this great Company. I will be working closely with David and Earl,
our Board of Directors, our outstanding leadership team, and our
talented employees across the Company to ensure that we
collectively serve the needs of our customers and
shareholders.”
Forward-looking statements in this news release are made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution the reader that such
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual events and results to be materially different
from those expressed or implied herein, including, but not limited
to, the following: (1) the competitive environment with respect to
industry capacity and pricing, including the use of fuel
surcharges, which could negatively impact our total overall pricing
strategy and our ability to cover our operating expenses; (2) our
ability to collect fuel surcharges and the effectiveness of those
fuel surcharges in mitigating the impact of fluctuating prices for
diesel fuel and other petroleum-based products; (3) the negative
impact of any unionization, or the passage of legislation or
regulations that could facilitate unionization, of our employees;
(4) the challenges associated with executing our growth strategy,
including our ability to successfully consummate and integrate any
acquisitions; (5) changes in our goals and strategies, which are
subject to change at any time at our discretion; (6) various
economic factors such as recessions, downturns in the economy,
global uncertainty and instability, changes in U.S. social,
political, and regulatory conditions or a disruption of financial
markets, which may decrease demand for our services; (7) the impact
of changes in tax laws, rates, guidance and interpretations,
including those related to certain provisions of the Tax Cuts and
Jobs Act; (8) increases in driver and maintenance technician
compensation or difficulties attracting and retaining qualified
drivers and maintenance technicians to meet freight demand; (9) our
exposure to claims related to cargo loss and damage, property
damage, personal injury, workers' compensation, group health and
group dental, including increased premiums, adverse loss
development, increased self-insured retention levels and claims in
excess of insured coverage levels; (10) cost increases associated
with employee benefits, including costs associated with employee
healthcare plans; (11) the availability and cost of capital for our
significant ongoing cash requirements; (12) the availability and
cost of new equipment and replacement parts, including regulatory
changes and supply constraints that could impact the cost of these
assets; (13) decreases in demand for, and the value of, used
equipment; (14) the availability and cost of diesel fuel; (15) the
costs and potential liabilities related to compliance with, or
violations of, existing or future governmental laws and
regulations, including environmental laws, engine emissions
standards, hours-of-service for our drivers, driver fitness
requirements and new safety standards for drivers and equipment;
(16) the costs and potential liabilities related to various legal
proceedings and claims that have arisen in the ordinary course of
our business, some of which include class-action allegations; (17)
the costs and potential liabilities related to governmental
proceedings, inquiries, notices or investigations; (18) the costs
and potential liabilities related to our international business
relationships; (19) the costs and potential adverse impact of
compliance with, or violations of, current and future rules issued
by the Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration (the “FMCSA”) and other regulatory agencies;
(20) the costs and potential adverse impact of compliance
associated with addressing interoperability between legacy
electronic automatic on-board recording devices and electronic
logging devices (“ELDs”) that comply with FMCSA’s ELD regulations
and guidance; (21) seasonal trends in the less-than-truckload
industry, including harsh weather conditions and disasters; (22)
our dependence on key employees; (23) the concentration of our
stock ownership with the Congdon family; (24) the costs and
potential adverse impact associated with future changes in
accounting standards or practices; (25) potential costs associated
with cyber incidents and other risks, including system failure,
security breach, disruption by malware or other damage; (26)
failure to keep pace with developments in technology, any
disruption to our technology infrastructure, or failures of
essential services upon which our technology platforms rely, which
could cause us to incur costs or result in a loss of business; (27)
the costs and potential adverse impact associated with transitional
challenges in upgrading or enhancing our technology systems; (28)
damage to our reputation through unfavorable publicity; (29) the
costs and potential adverse impact of compliance with
anti-terrorism measures on our business; (30) dilution to existing
shareholders caused by any issuance of additional equity; (31) the
impact of a quarterly cash dividend or the failure to declare
future cash dividends; (32) fluctuations in the market value of our
common stock; (33) the impact of certain provisions in our articles
of incorporation, bylaws, and Virginia law that could discourage,
delay or prevent a change in control of us or a change in our
management; and (34) other risks and uncertainties described in our
most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the
SEC. Our forward-looking statements are based upon our beliefs and
assumptions using information available at the time the statements
are made. We caution the reader not to place undue reliance on our
forward-looking statements (i) as these statements are neither a
prediction nor a guarantee of future events or circumstances and
(ii) the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and projections about
future events may differ materially from actual results. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statement to reflect developments occurring after the statement is
made, except as otherwise required by law.
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. is a leading,
less-than-truckload (“LTL”), union-free motor carrier providing
regional, inter-regional and national LTL services, which include
ground and air expedited transportation and consumer household
pickup and delivery through a single integrated organization. In
addition to its core LTL services, the Company offers a range of
value-added services including container drayage, truckload
brokerage, supply chain consulting and warehousing.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180309005353/en/
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.Adam N. Satterfield,
336-822-5721Senior Vice President - Finance andChief Financial
Officer
Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL)
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