Chris Spear has stepped down as president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, the agency announced Friday, ending more than a decade of leadership at the nation’s largest trucking trade organization.
ATA Chairman Greg Hodgen announced the departure, which is effective immediately, noting that Spear had informed the association’s executive committee of his decision.
"On behalf of ATA, I thank Chris for more than a decade of service to the association and our industry," Hodgen said in a statement. "During his tenure, ATA secured significant policy victories, strengthened its advocacy operation, and elevated trucking’s voice in Washington."
Hodgen credited Spear with assembling a strong team across policy, technical, government affairs, and communications divisions, expressing confidence that the organization's advocacy will continue without interruption.
The ATA board will convene a search committee to identify the next president and CEO. An interim successor was not immediately announced.
Spear, a government relations specialist with more than 30 years of experience spanning the transportation, energy, and defense technology sectors, led ATA through major federal regulatory and legislative debates. He also served on the boards of the American Transportation Research Institute and the Trucking Cares Foundation.
Before taking the helm at the ATA, Spear was vice president of government affairs for Hyundai Motor Co. and earlier served as the ATA’s senior vice president of legislative affairs. His corporate career also included leadership roles at Honeywell International, where he managed global government relations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and Latin America, and later directed emerging markets from the United Kingdom.
Spear also spent years in public service. Nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he served as assistant secretary of labor for policy. During that period, he was named the president's senior advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Labor and later served as deputy representative for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, earning the U.S. Department of Defense Joint Civilian Service Medal. Earlier in his career, he worked as a staff member in the U.S. Senate.
Spear holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Wyoming.
