Dive Brief:
- Minnesota-based Bay & Bay Transportation named Lisa Gonnerman president of trucking, according to a Jan. 5 news release. She’s the first female president in the company’s 82-year history.
- Gonnerman brings over 30 years of transportation industry experience, including time as director of operations at Schneider National as well as vice president of safety at Ruan Transportation Management Systems and then Transport America.
- Sam Anderson, Bay & Bay’s CEO, touted her three decades of industry experience and “relentless focus on fleet safety, people development, and customer satisfaction,” saying it made her the perfect leader to oversee trucking for the company.
Dive Insight:
Gonnerman’s safety and compliance history includes time with regional and national industry groups, and her track record in these areas has benefited carriers and shippers, Bay & Bay said in its announcement.
She’s a former chair of the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) Safety Management Council and currently serves as the vice chair of the Minnesota Trucking Association Safety Council.
In 2016 when the ATA recognized her as National Safety Director of the Year, President and CEO Chris Spear said she’s established strong safety cultures throughout her career in trucking, making a significant impact on highway safety and saving lives.
She’s not the only woman taking on leadership in a traditionally male-dominant business. Last year, Shelley Simpson became J.B. Hunt’s president, Jennifer Rumsey became CEO and president of Cummins, and Werner Enterprises kept Cari Baylor as president of Baylor Trucking when the carrier acquired the business.
The 2021 $1 trillion infrastructure law also created the Women of Trucking Advisory Board, which launched last year. It’s tasked with reviewing and reporting on policies regarding female trucking workers as well as promoting a diverse workforce.
Overall, women have been making gains in both truck driving and leadership positions and currently represent an estimated 33.8% of C-suite executives, according to the Women In Trucking Association’s 2022 WIT Index.
