Bulldog Hiway Express President and CEO Philip Byrd retires Friday from the Charleston, South Carolina-based heavy-hauler he has led for four decades.
The former American Trucking Associations chairman said he has accepted a remote, part-time government lobbying role with the carrier’s parent company, TFI International.
The Canada-based parent company will directly oversee Bulldog and will not replace Byrd at the helm, he said.
In an interview this week ahead of his departure, Byrd reflected on his tenure at the 200-truck carrier and shared his plans to spend more time with his family at their house in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
TRUCKING DIVE: Congratulations on your retirement. How long has it been in the works?
PHILIP BYRD: I've been giving it thought — as Father Time continues to deal with individuals, you know at some point in time, it's inevitable that you've got to hand the torch off and life continues and moves along.
God has blessed me with a great, long, prosperous career. If I had the ability to pick anything I ever wanted to do with my lifetime and career, it would have been transportation, trucking and logistics. God placed me there and surrounded me with great people in my company, tremendous employees.
The average length of service at Bulldog is between 15 and 18 years, and that goes through our drivers right on through the organization. We've tried to create an environment where people feel ownership in the organization. They take pride in their work. They work with a great deal of integrity and honesty.
Does your exit as CEO have anything to do with the Daseke and TFI International acquisitions?
BYRD: I've been so impressed with the leadership and the management of TFI, right from the CEO, CFO, COO and everybody beyond them, has been incredibly generous, talented, and they're going to do great things. My people are in good hands. The Daseke group is in good hands.
I surrendered a great deal of control when we made the move to Daseke, and success is written all over the TFI group. Everything I want to do is help them become more successful. And I don't want to be an impediment in any way, but I want to help these great people do great things with this great organization.
Could you share more on your new, part-time advocacy role?
BYRD: It'll be internal government affairs work that will be pushing the issues that are critical to TFI’s success, and trying to snuff out regulations and burdensome legislation that would create a problem for us.
I’ll be keeping my finger on that pulse and communicating to TFI leadership what they need to be alert to and keeping their eyes on, because it could be impactful.
What are your plans for your retirement outside of trucking?
BYRD: I'm going to enjoy my wife and my family — my son, my grandchildren and the things that I've neglected far too long. I'm going to give them all my time. I’m going to serve the Lord with missions work, and I want to be a light unto His path and help people along the way.
I'm going to enjoy my mountain house. My wife and I recently completed renovations on our mountain house on Judd’s Peak in Western North Carolina. We just feel tremendously blessed.
