In response to last year’s record growth, Saia President and Chief Executive Officer Rick O’Dell has announced a restructuring of the LTL carrier’s sales and operations management.
“In order to support our growth and position the company for the future,” O’Dell said in making the announcement, “we have reorganized sales and operations into an East-West arrangement with four vice presidents, each reporting to Tony Albanese, senior vice president of operations and sales.”
Dave Letke was named vice president of operations, East. Letke joins Saia from SCS Transportation, where he has served as vice president of operations planning since 2000. He has more than 33 years of industry experience. At SCS, Letke was instrumental in working with Saia to implement industry-leading operational procedures.
Larry Mohr was named vice president of sales, East. Mohr joined Saia in 2002 as regional sales manager for the Houston region. In 2005, he was promoted to Houston region manager. Mohr has been instrumental in building Saia’s strong sales team in the Houston region. He has more than 23 years of LTL experience.
Brian Balius was named vice president of operations, West. Balius has served as vice president of operations for Saia since 2004. He, and a strong team of region managers, is responsible for taking our company through the operational integration of the Clark Bros. terminals and the hurricanes of 2005. Balius has more than 24 years of industry experience in transportation, serving as linehaul director prior to 2004.
Mark Hamblin was named vice president of sales, West. Hamblin became part of Saia during its integration with WestEx in 2001. He began his Saia career as a national account executive and was promoted to Dallas regional sales manager in 2003. Hamblin’s strong leadership in the Dallas region has produced record results and built one of the strongest sales teams in the company. He has more than 17 years of transportation experience.
Pat Coombs was promoted to vice president of revenue management. Coombs has been with Saia since 1998 as director of revenue management. He has built a strong leadership team, put processes into place that have led to improved productivity and increased freight rating efficiency. Coombs will continue to be based at the Houma, La., general office and reports to Jim Darby, vice president of finance and administration.
“A key factor in the success of Saia is our people,” O’Dell said. “I want to personally congratulate these company leaders on their new assignments and promotions. Combined, these employees have more than 100 years of professional LTL experience. With this reorganization, we can look forward to continued growth and success with an enhanced leadership team in place.”
