Meet our subject matter experts for our panels and workshops
Panels
Trucking Insight Panel:
Managing Risk in a Nuclear World
Tuesday, March 2 | 9:45 - 10:45 a.m.
This legal and risk session will examine the growing complexity of the litigation environment and the steps carriers can take to reduce exposure before an incident occurs. The session will address nuclear verdict trends, documentation practices, data preservation, safety and operational risk signals, and the role emerging technologies may play in identifying vulnerabilities. Attendees will gain a stronger understanding of how proactive risk management, legal readiness, and disciplined data practices can support both prevention and defense.
Key takeaways:
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Recognize litigation and nuclear verdict trends affecting motor carriers.
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Identify operational, safety, and documentation practices that may reduce legal exposure.
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Assess how data, technology, and legal strategy can strengthen prevention and defense efforts.
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Jim Mullen
President
Truckload Carriers Association
Ryan Gall
Vice President, Safety & Terminal Management
Werner Enterprises
Guy Perrier
Attorney
Perrier & Lacoste, LLC
TBD
TBD
Next-Level AI for Trucking Operations
Wednesday, March 3 | 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.
This executive panel will move beyond introductory AI conversations and focus on how trucking companies are using AI to improve real operational performance. Panelists will explore where AI can support better forecasting, planning, exception management, automation, customer service, and decision-making without losing sight of data quality, change management, and measurable ROI. The session will help leaders distinguish between hype and practical opportunities that can be evaluated, piloted, and scaled responsibly.
Key takeaways:
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Evaluate practical AI use cases that can improve trucking operations.
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Identify the data, workflow, and leadership conditions needed for successful adoption.
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Define meaningful ROI measures for AI initiatives.
Bill Cain
Director, Product & Engineering
Trimble
Dustin Koehl
Chief Operating Officer
Covenant Logistics
Daragh Mahon
Exec. Vice President & CIO
Werner Enterprises
Karen Smerchek
President
Veriha Trucking
Trucking Insights Panel: Safety Excellence Across Every Fleet Size
Wednesday, March 3 | 9:45 - 10:45 a.m.
This session will highlight how carriers of different sizes build and sustain high-performing safety programs. Safety leaders will share approaches that work across varied operating models, including how they engage drivers, use data and technology, strengthen accountability, and create cultures where safety is consistently reinforced. Attendees will hear practical examples that can be scaled up or down depending on fleet size, resources, and organizational maturity.
Key takeaways:
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Compare safety practices used by small, mid-sized, and large carriers.
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Identify strategies for strengthening safety culture and driver participation.
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Determine which safety technologies, data practices, and compliance approaches may be adaptable to their own fleet.
Zach Trepanier
Head of Transportation I North America
Acrisure
Sheree Mallmann
Director of Safety
Nagle Companies
Garth Pitzel
Assoc. Vice President, Safety & Driver Development
Bison Transport
Brandon Sarchet
Sr. Vice President, Safety & Security
J.B. Hunt
Workshops I 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Powered by People: The Human Advantage in an AI World
Wednesday, March 3 | 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
As AI reshapes trucking operations, this session will focus on the human side of innovation. Leaders will explore how organizations can build trust, communicate change, strengthen culture, and prepare employees to work effectively alongside new tools. The discussion will emphasize that technology delivers value only when people understand it, adopt it, and see how it supports their work, their teams, and the customer experience.
Key takeaways:
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Explain why culture, communication, and trust are essential to technology adoption.
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Identify leadership practices that help teams navigate rapid change.
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Develop strategies to prepare employees and drivers for an AI-enabled workplace.
TBD
TBD
Ron Bourque
Sr. Vice President, Safety
AIM Transportation
Dominic Zastarskis
CEO
GP Transco
Winning the Driver Retention Battle
Wednesday, March 3 | 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
This best-idea showcase will spotlight practical driver retention strategies that are already working inside carrier organizations. Each panelist will present one successful initiative, explain why it was needed, how it was implemented, and what impact it had on driver engagement, satisfaction, or turnover. Following the showcases, a moderated panel discussion and audience Q&A will explore common themes, lessons learned, and how carriers can adapt these ideas to their own operations. While recruitment remains part of the broader workforce conversation, this session will place stronger emphasis on keeping drivers engaged, supported, and committed for the long term.
Key takeaways:
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Examine successful retention strategies shared by carrier panelists and identify why they worked.
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Evaluate how engagement, communication, recognition, onboarding, and career development influence long-term driver retention.
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Adapt at least one practical retention idea to strengthen their own workforce strategy, while aligning recruitment messages with the driver experience.
Marilyn Surber
Exec. Advisor, Growth & Strategic Partnerships
Conversion IA
Laura Duryea
Manager, Recruiting & Retention
Boyle Transportation
Richard Haan
General Manager
Mill Creek
TBD
Maverick Transportation
Cargo Theft, Freight Fraud, and Organized Criminal Networks
Wednesday, March 3 | 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
This panel will examine how the transportation and shipping communities are working together to combat cargo theft, freight fraud, and organized criminal networks. Insurance and shipper representatives will share what they are seeing across the supply chain, how criminal tactics are evolving, and the coordinated prevention, detection, reporting, and recovery efforts already underway. The discussion will highlight practical actions carriers can take to strengthen controls, improve information sharing, support investigations, and reduce losses across the freight ecosystem.
The conversation will move beyond describing the problem to show what insurers, shippers, carriers, and public-sector partners are doing—and can do together—to disrupt criminal activity and protect freight.
Key takeaways:
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Explain how insurers, shippers, carriers, and public-sector partners are responding to cargo theft, freight fraud, and organized criminal networks.
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Identify proven verification, security, technology, and information-sharing practices that can reduce exposure.
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Determine how to strengthen coordination with customers, insurers, law enforcement, and industry partners before and after an incident.
Adam Blanchard
Co-founder & CEO
Double Diamond Transport
Paul Enos
CEO
Nevada State Trucking Assoc.
Ryan Kiefer
Lead Specialty Investigator
Travelers
TBD
TBD
Workshops I 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Inside the Shipper Conversation: What Carriers are Hearing from Customers
Wednesday, March 3 | 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
What are shippers asking for, prioritizing, and expecting from their carrier partners today? In this carrier-led panel, experienced transportation leaders will share what they are hearing directly from customers and how those conversations are influencing their approach to pricing, service, capacity, and relationship management. Attendees will leave with practical perspectives on strengthening customer relationships, responding to changing expectations, and positioning their companies as valuable long-term partners.
Key takeaways:
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Identify what shippers are asking for, prioritizing, and expecting from their carrier partners today.
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Assess how changing shipper expectations are influencing carrier approaches to pricing, service, capacity, and relationship management.
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Apply practical strategies to strengthen customer relationships and position their companies as valuable long-term partners.
Steve Wutke
Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Prime, Inc.
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Powering Performance through Benchmarking
Wednesday, March 3 | 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
This benchmarking and trends workshop will help carriers understand how meaningful data comparisons can power better performance decisions. Participants will explore the metrics that matter most across safety, operations, finance, workforce, and customer service—and how benchmarking can reveal strengths, gaps, and improvement opportunities. The session will also highlight emerging trends and lessons from high-performing organizations that consistently use data to guide strategy and execution.
Key takeaways:
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Explain how benchmarking supports stronger operational, financial, safety, and workforce decisions.
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Identify the key performance indicators carriers should monitor and compare against peers.
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Use benchmarking insights to prioritize improvement opportunities and strategic investments.
Chris Henry
President
KSM Transport Advisors
Jennifer Branch
CFO
RE Garrison Trucking
Andrew Winkler
General Manager
Chief Carriers
Responsible AI: Protecting Data, People, and the Business
Wednesday, March 3 | 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
This executive governance workshop will help leaders understand how to accelerate AI innovation while protecting company data, employees, customers, and business operations. The session will explore practical governance structures, employee-use policies, data privacy considerations, vendor oversight, legal exposure, and executive accountability. Attendees will leave with a clearer view of the guardrails needed to use AI responsibly without slowing down useful experimentation and adoption.
Key takeaways:
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Define the core elements of a responsible AI governance framework.
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Identify data privacy, employee usage, vendor, and legal risks associated with AI adoption.
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Determine how executives can balance innovation, oversight, and accountability.
Justyn Miller
Owner & President
Shift Inc.
Aaron Warner
Founder & CEO
ProCircular
Andrew Winkler
General Manager
Chief Carriers