Ronald D. Widdows, who is assuming the chief executive officer position with the merger of American Intermodal Management (AIM) and FlexiVan, has announced the members of the new senior leadership team: Nathaniel Seeds, Gregory Moore, Tom Crimmins, Vidyasagar Chikkila and Charles G. Wellins.
Widdows is the co-founder and executive chairman of AIM, former president and CEO of the NOL Group and former CEO of APL. He has held senior executive positions in the U.S., Asia, Europe and Canada during his 48 years in the industry.
I Squared Capital announced in January it had acquired a controlling interest in FlexiVan and was combining it with AIM.
Seeds will assume the role of chief operating officer and will oversee the operations of the company and its continued application of innovative technology across FlexiVan’s nationwide network. Seeds co-founded AIM and previously served as its CEO. Seeds spent 24 years with APL, for which he served as COO of a global business, focusing on operational excellence, disciplined cost management, process efficiency and technological innovation.
Moore will continue as FlexiVan’s chief commercial officer after the merger with AIM. As CCO, Moore, who joined FlexiVan in 2015, will be responsible for the direction of all commercial aspects of the company. An industry veteran, Moore successfully led large organizations in the U.S., Europe and Latin America over a 32-year career with A.P. Møller – Mærsk.
Crimmins will continue as FlexiVan’s chief financial officer after the merger with AIM. He joined FlexiVan in 2018 as vice president and CFO. He previously was executive vice president and CFO at B&G Foods. Before that, he spent 16 years with DRS Technologies.
Chikkila, AIM’s vice president of IT, will assume the role of chief information officer. As the CIO of FlexiVan, he will lead the IT platform integration and drive the continued development of new technology to enhance customer value through tools and insights. He previously spent 22 years with APL as chief architect.
Wellins, formerly the president and COO of FlexiVan, will assume a new role as chief strategy officer. He joined FlexiVan in 2017 with 35 years of experience gained through an array of senior executive roles with Maersk, CEVA Logistics, and, more recently, Li and Fung. As CSO, Wellins will be tasked with cultivating new opportunities for FlexiVan both within the chassis sector and beyond, focusing on initiatives to build out the vision to create a very different player in the logistics and transportation equipment space.
Nolan Transportation Group
Nolan Transportation Group (NTG), a non-asset truckload freight brokerage and provider of third-party logistics services, announced that veteran logistics industry executive Geoff Kelley (pictured above right) has been hired to serve as president.
Kelley is being tasked with leading NTG’s next growth phase, driving nationwide expansion as a multimodal brokerage provider through organic growth and M&A strategies.
Most recently, he served as the COO for Coyote Logistics, a subsidiary of UPS. Previously, he held various UPS leadership positions, including roles in global freight forwarding, mergers and acquisitions, and treasury.
“Geoff Kelley is a well-equipped leader to build NTG for the future, with significant experience and expertise in organic growth and M&A strategies,” said Kevin Nolan, founder and chairman of NTG. “Geoff has both the operational and investment backgrounds that will enable NTG to accelerate and optimize a high-growth, robust brokerage platform. His experience bringing end-to-end supply chain solutions to enterprise-level shippers, as well as his ability to produce operational efficiency while managing through various market conditions, will be a huge value add for NTG.”
International Maritime Hall of Fame
The Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey (MAPONY/NJ) has announced five global shipping leaders will be inducted into the 2020 International Maritime Hall of Fame on May 13 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
The honorees, announced by MAPONY/NJ Executive Director Edward Kelly, are Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises Inc., Miami; James R. Mara, president emeritus of the Metropolitan Marine Maintenance Contractors’ Association (MMMCA), Rutherford, New Jersey; James I. Newsome III, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA), Charleston; Nikolas P. Tsakos, president and CEO of Tsakos Energy Navigation Corp. (TEN), Athens, Greece; and Lois K. Zabrocky, president and CEO of International Seaways Inc., New York City.
Lutoff-Perlo (bottom left) leads the multibillion-dollar Celebrity brand with 13 ships sailing to more than 300 global ports, with each ship’s crew representing over 60 nationalities and a diverse global workforce of over 20,000. She also leads Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Global Marine Organization, ensuring that the corporation’s $28 billion fleet of 61 ships runs safely, smoothly and efficiently.
Mara (bottom center) is president emeritus of the MMMCA, a nonprofit trade group comprising 21 companies doing business in the Port of New York and New Jersey. They employ some 1,100 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association. Prior to assuming the role of president in 2014, Mara spent 33 years as a labor contractor at various MMMCA contractor companies. He also was president of A. G. Ship Maintenance (Portwide) and Bay Container Repair of N.J.
Newsome (top left) became president and CEO of SCPA on Sept. 1, 2009, and is only the fifth leader in the history of the organization, as well as the longest-serving head of a major container port in the U.S. He was previously president of Hapag-Lloyd (America) Inc. Prior to joining Hapag-Lloyd in 1997, Newsome was with Nedlloyd Lines from 1987 to 1997. He also spent 10 years with Strachan Shipping Co., serving as president of the Hoegh Lines Agencies subsidiary in Jersey City.
Tsakos (top center) is the founder and CEO of TEN, a shipping company established 27 years ago. He was chairman of INTERTANKO from 2014 to 2018 and is the former president of the environmental organization HELMEPA. In 2011, Tsakos was awarded an honorary doctorate from City University in London for his pioneering work in the equity financial markets relating to shipping companies.
Zabrocky (top right) has been president and CEO of International Seaways, one of the world’s largest tanker companies, since 2016. She previously served as senior vice president for the predecessor company’s International Flag strategic business unit, with P&L responsibility for commercial management and oversight of fleet operations. She also served as chief commercial officer, with responsibility for international flag crude, products and gas businesses.
