The chief operating officer at Werner Enterprises Inc. will relinquish that role at the FleetOwner 500 carrier at the end of this year to make way for the leader of the company’s dedicated division.
Marty Nordlund joined Omaha-based Werner in 1994 as an account executive and rose to lead both its dedicated and specialized groups before being tapped to be COO in May 2016. The 60-year-old isn’t yet leaving Werner, though: Starting with the new year, he will take on a new role that the company said will focus on growing its relationships with some of its largest customers. Nordlund will also continue to oversee several other areas at the company, Werner said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
See also: Werner plans to buy 500 Cummins X15H hydrogen engines
Preparing to step into Nordlund’s role overseeing trucking and logistics operations is Eric Downing, who has been with the company since 1998. After working as vice president of specialized services for about four years, the 50-year-old Downing was named senior VP of dedicated in 2016. The company said in its filing that that group has since nearly doubled revenues on the back of growing its truck count by 40%.
Werner, which is No. 12 on this year’s FleetOwner 500: Top For-Hire Fleets of 2022, has about 10,000 tractors and 25,000 trailers. The company this summer reported second-quarter profits of about $72 million on revenues of $836 million. The bottom line was flat from the same period of 2021, hurt by higher operating costs and a big jump in rent and purchased transportation. Shares of the company (Ticker: WERN) fell about 2% on Sept. 20 to close at $38.47 and have retreated about 10% over the past six months.
