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Herb Schmidt is president and chief executive officer of Contract Freighters, Inc. (CFI), Con-way’s recently acquired truckload operation. CFI is a leader in truckload and intermodal services throughout North America. As president of CFI, a Con-way Company, Schmidt oversees the strategy and the operations of the company across North America.
CFI is a subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE:CNW), a $4.7 billion freight transportation and logistics services company headquartered in San Mateo, Calif. Con-way delivers industry-leading services through its primary operating companies of Con-way Freight, CFI, and Menlo Worldwide. These operating units provide less-than-truckload (LTL), full truckload; as well as logistics, warehousing and supply chain management services; and trailer manufacturing. Con-way Inc. and its subsidiaries operate from more than 500 locations across North America and in 20 countries across 5 continents.
With over 25 years in the trucking industry, Schmidt is a respected leader in his field, lending his expertise and leadership to the American Trucking Association Tort Reform and Insurance Task Force and the Missouri State Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He is the former president of the Truckload Carriers Association Safety Council and has served 11 years as the chairman of the Professional Truck Driving Institute of America, an independent body that certifies professional driving schools throughout the country.
Under Schmidt’s leadership, the company now operates over 2,600 tractors and more than 7,000 trailers and delivers industry leading full truckload service to shippers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. CFI was one of the first carriers to establish truckload operations in Mexico and has been recognized for its excellence in export service; CFI received the President’s E and E-Star Awards. The company is also ISO 9001-2000 certified.
Schmidt began his career in the transportation industry with United Parcel Service in operations and industrial engineering. He joined CFI in 1984 as the director of safety. During his tenure at CFI, he gained experience in the positions of vice president of administration, vice president of safety, senior vice president of operations, and senior vice president of sales and marketing. In 2000, the Board of Directors appointed him president, promoting him from the position of senior vice president of sales and marketing. In 2005, the Board of Directors appointed him chief executive officer. From this position, he helped orchestrate the combination of CFI and Con-way, Inc. to create the industry’s leading heavy-weight freight transportation and logistics company.
In 1978, Schmidt graduated summa cum laude from Missouri Southern State College in Joplin, Missouri, with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science. Schmidt is based out of CFI’s headquarters in Joplin, Mo. | 