U.S. Xpress Enterprises recently announced the promotion of longtime employee Justin Harness from senior vice president of dedicated operations to chief marketing officer.
Harness joined U.S. Xpress as a fleet manager trainee in 2002, working his way through various roles in multiple department, including everything from director of customer service to regional vice president of over-the-road operations, over the past 16 years.
“I worked in front line roles for the first couple of years, getting a good base understanding of the company, the business and the industry,” Harness said. “I started progressing through the management ranks in 2004, when I got my first job as an account manager in our dedicated group.”
From there, Harness moved through several management roles before being promoted to senior vice president of dedicated operations in 2014, a role he held until earlier this week.
“Justin’s deep understanding of our business paired with his enthusiasm and team approach make him the ideal fit for this role,” U.S. Xpress President and CEO Eric Fuller said.
When Harness walked through the doors of U.S. Xpress for the first time, this is exactly the kind of outcome he was hoping for.
“I felt and believed this would be my home. It’s what I wanted. I’m a Chattanooga native, and I wanted to onboard with an organization I had growth opportunities with, and I saw it right out of the gate here,” he said. “They’ve been incredibly good to me obviously, and I’m very fortunate and very blessed to be able to move as I have.”
Harness attributes much of his readiness to take over as CMO with the various roles he has held in the company, as well as a deep understanding of the U.S. Xpress customer base.
“The experiences I’ve garnered through the various roles I’ve held are all going to lend themselves to helping me be successful in this role and helping the company be successful,” he said. “I’ve had extensive operations experience and extensive customer service experience, and in my most recent role I had extensive customer-facing experience. I’ve spent a lot of time with our customers.”
The leadership change came “in connection with the separation of employment with John White,” according to the media release. White previously served as chief sales and marketing officer.
Harness was not able to speak about what he hopes to accomplish in his new role during his interview with FreightWaves because the company is in a “quiet period” ahead of the release of its Q3 earnings report next week.