USA Truck Inc. on Tuesday, March 29, announced that Robert Powell will retire from his position as board chairman and as a board member effective May 4. Powell has served as chairman since 2000, was CEO between 1988 and 2007 and has been a director of the Van Buren, Ark.-based company since 1983. Powell is one of the original participants in the group that acquired USA Truck from Arkansas Best Corp. in December 1988. Prior to that, he had been employed for 28 years by ABF Freight System Inc.
“Bob Powell is a true visionary and recognized leader in the transportation industry,” says Cliff Beckham, USA Truck’s president and chief executive officer. “He has been a valuable contributor to our company since it was founded and has been a continuous source of sound advice. Bob’s commitment and dedication to this company during his tenure established USA Truck as one of the industry’s leaders, growing it from just a few tractors at its founding to one of the 20 largest dry van truckload carriers in North America. USA Truck will be forever grateful to Bob for his contributions, and we wish him well in his much-deserved retirement.”
To succeed Powell as chairman, the board unanimously elected Terry Elliott, who has served as a director since 2003 and currently serves as chairman of the Audit Committee. He served as chief financial officer of Safe Foods Corp. from July 2000 to August 2009 and served as a director of Safe Foods from 2000 to 2003. Elliott also was a director of Superior Financial Corp. and a member of its Audit Committee from February 2003 until Superior was sold to Arvest Holdings Inc. in August 2003. From 1996 to 2000, Elliott served as CFO for two unrelated private start-up businesses. He was with Ernst & Young from 1968 until 1994 when he retired as managing partner of the Little Rock Office. He is an inactive Certified Public Accountant.
USA Truck also announced today that Garry Lewis, 65, will be retiring from his position as executive vice president and chief operating officer effective April 30. Lewis has served in a variety of operating roles since 1975. “Garry Lewis has been committed to the advancement and growth of the company, and his dedication to improving our operations has been instrumental in the success we have achieved,” Beckham says. “On behalf of USA Truck, I would like to thank Garry for his distinguished service and congratulate him on his retirement.”
