The wheels of change are rolling fast in the supply chain industry. And nowhere is that more apparent than in the growth of women’s leadership roles.
Women in management positions at U.S. Xpress are making significant contributions to both our and our customers’ success. Many of these leaders are playing a pivotal role in transforming our customer experience, ensuring you get the world-class support you need to succeed.
Take Vice President of Customer Experience Julie Van de Kamp, a veteran of nearly 20 years in the trucking and logistics industries. She was named one of Women In Trucking’s 2020 Top Women to Watch in Transportation and also headlined a leadership panel hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Women in Supply Chain Initiative to mark Women’s History Month earlier this year. Julie and her team have a laser focus on streamlining and improving customer service within the supply chain, ensuring goods move better every day.
This women-driven team includes Brandy Holcomb and Jackie Harris, both directors of customer experience. Learning on 16 years of experience in a variety of roles, Brandy manages both large enterprise accounts and growth accounts. Jackie joined the team late last year, also managing both growth and large enterprise accounts.
Another rising star contributing to our service offering is Leader of Special Operations Jessica Jasso, with 14 years of experience with the company and in the industry. Jessica leveraged a leadership training rotation program to advance from our customer service group to a manager’s role and is now a director responsible for strategically and systematically improving service.
Women also hold leadership roles on our driver service team. Lynn Quintero has been with U.S. Xpress for nine years and was recently promoted to vice president of driver services, where she’s responsible for all driver service centers and ensuring they’re a home away from home and a haven for our drivers while out on the road. Her team also gets new drivers off to a fast start with a red-carpet orientation experience to ensure their success with the company.
U.S. Xpress also is revving up the numbers of women behind the wheel, helping lead an industry evolution. The number of women truck drivers industrywide has grown 68% in the past decade, including a 30% bump between 2018 and 2019, according to FreightWaves. Women now make up 10% of long-haul drivers, including 11% of the U.S. Xpress and Variant fleets.
That’s good news for you, for a couple of reasons. One, it boosts the pool of drivers available to deliver your products in a dual-threat environment: The pandemic has ramped up demand for shipping, while driver shortages continue to climb and are expected to exceed 100,000 nationwide by next year.
And two, your goods just might arrive more safely. Decades of data show female truck drivers are more cautious on the road. These stats suggest female drivers have fewer accidents, and those tend to be less serious, according to the American Transportation Research Institute.
And we’re taking steps to continue building our female talent pool, including professional development opportunities, a tuition reimbursement program, internal promotion opportunities, and an employee resource group providing support, mentorship, and a voice for women in our company.
Whether behind the wheel or behind the scenes, you can expect to see more women at U.S. Xpress helping drive the success of your business. And that’s something we all can celebrate.
Want to learn more about how U.S. Xpress can help your business grow? Reach out to your sales representative or email us at sales@usxpress.com.
