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Career Tracks: Crane Worldwide and American Commercial Barge

US companies seating CIO and CEO

Crane Worldwide Logistics has hired Brannon Kuykendall as chief information officer. (Photo: Crane Worldwide)

Crane Worldwide Logistics has hired Brannon Kuykendall as chief information officer.

Headquartered in Houston, Crane Worldwide said the appointment was part of its strategy to focus on technology, service and people to drive business growth beyond 2020. Crane Worldwide, which celebrated 12 years of operations on Friday, said it provides clients with a predictive command center using a centralized dashboard to provide at-a-glance visibility.

Crane Worldwide said Kuykendall successfully led technology teams at organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises and has diverse experience in software development, cybersecurity, compliance, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Prior to joining Crane Worldwide, he served as chief information officer in the oil and gas industry. He previously was the chief technology officer at ThoughtTrace, an artificial intelligence software-as-a-service company.


Crane Worldwide CEO Keith Winters said he looked forward to the automated solutions Kuykendall will present to clients around the globe.

“There are profound changes in digitalization and data to support intelligent modeling,” Winters said. “Our clients have faced many challenges during the COVID-19 outbreak. End-to-end and real-time visibility are key to making informed decisions when faced with supply chain disruption and assessing vulnerabilities.”

American Commercial Barge Line

Mike Ellis has been named chief executive officer of American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL).

Ellis, who also will serve as a member of ACBL’s board of directors, will assume his new role Aug. 17.


Jeffersonville, Indiana-based ACBL recently completed company restructuring following bankruptcy.

“Following a thorough search, we are delighted to welcome Mike Ellis as ACBL’s new CEO, beginning a new chapter in the company’s 100-plus-year storied history,” said Chairman of the Board John Giles. “Mike comes to ACBL with a long history in the industry and brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership that will guide us forward.”

Ellis previously was the executive vice president and marine group leader for Savage Services Corp. Savage sold its inland business to Kirby in April. Savage earlier acquired Settoon Towing LLC, for which Ellis served as president, board member and part owner. He also held leadership positions at Bollinger Shipyards, including chief financial officer and chief operations officer.

Mike Knoy earlier announced that he would retire as ACBL’s president, CEO and board member.

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Click for more American Shipper/FreightWaves stories by Senior Editor Kim Link-Wills.


Kim Link Wills

Senior Editor Kim Link-Wills has written about everything from agriculture as a reporter for Illinois Agri-News to zoology as editor of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Her work has garnered awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Magazine Association of the Southeast. Prior to serving as managing editor of American Shipper, Kim spent more than four years with XPO Logistics.