Late last year, Bill T. Ward announced his retirement after nearly 42 years of service to the company. Not only has Bill T. dedicated his adult working life to Ward Transport and Logistics, it has been a constant his entire life with his grandfather, William W. Ward founding the company in 1931. As Bill T. stated in his goodbye message to the company, Ward has been his “focus and love for many years,” and as he transitions into retirement, it’s always pleasing to reflect on the times that brought us to now.
“When I started in 1982, there were no computers, cell phones, email, or GPS. The first technologies that I remember were pagers and voice mailboxes. Interoffice memos, telephone calls, and face to face meetings was how business was conducted,” Bill T. reminisces. In discussing the biggest challenges he faced over his career, he points to three major events: deregulation in 1980, the Great Recession in 2007, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Bill T. recalls, “It took us many years in the ‘80s to learn how to compete in a deregulated industry. With our competitors offering large discounts, we had to become more efficient to continue to make a profit. The Great Recession brought a different challenge when volumes dropped almost overnight. We still had much overhead to cover (terminals, equipment, and personnel) with less revenue coming in. Covid brought new challenges in how to service our customers and keep our employees safe.”
With those industry changes and challenges in the rearview mirror, he affirms now is the “time to turn the reins over to a new generation of leaders and leadership.” With that sentiment in mind, Bill T. has officially named Bill Jr. as CEO. This is in addition to Bill Jr.’s role as President. Bill T. is confident in the strength and perseverance of the One Ward team and is excited to witness the team’s continuing success now under Bill Jr.’s leadership.
Bill Jr. is invigorated to take on his new dual role and continue to lead with his father’s and family’s legacy in mind. “Our legacy is a huge strength. As a company, we have placed a large importance on succession planning over the past decade at all levels of the company. My great grandfather (W. W. Ward) and my grandfather (G. Bill Ward) did the exact same thing. I feel our commitment to succession planning is the reason our company has thrived for 93 years.” Bill Jr. credits his father’s commitment to the future, steady guidance during tough times, and data driven mindset as having a lasting positive impact on him and the company. “My father empowered company leaders to make decisions, learn from their mistakes and develop themselves and their people. This is why we have such a great leadership team today. I intend to do the same thing. He loves people and made them feel special. That is a big reason we have been able to keep the ‘family’ atmosphere alive. I, along with my brother and cousins, intend to do the same thing in the 4th generation of leadership of Ward.”
Now with all eyes set on the future, Bill is thrilled to announce Ward’s strategic three-year plan. It focuses on four main pillars:
- Growth coming by the way of geographical expansion, profit improvement and growth of non-LTL verticals
- Continuing to invest in technology
- Offering service excellence to the customer
- Developing the ONE WARD team – making sure we have a family of employees that are safe, trained and happy
With plans in place and unwavering support from his father and family, Bill Jr. is ready to rise to the occasion and reach new heights with the company.
Contact: Bill Bettwy | VP of Marketing | bbettwy@wardtlc.com