Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> July 29, 2014
David S. Congdon is the Vice Chairman of the board and CEO of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc., a transportation and logistics corporation founded by his grandparents. Mr. Congdon led the company as President from May of 1997 until May of 2015 and has been CEO since 2008. His knowledge of LTL transportation is both broad and deep. Over the last 45 years, his jobs have included dockman, mechanic, city driver, road driver, industrial engineer, Director of Employee Relations, Director of Safety and Personnel, Vice President of Maintenance and Equipment, President of Old Dominion Furniture Division, Vice President of Linehaul and Vice President of Quality Management. Mr. Congdon was born in Richmond, Virginia, the city of Old Dominion Freight Line’s founding. In 1960, the Congdon family relocated to the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina where the company moved its headquarters. He is a 1978 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he received a B.S. in business administration. Mr. Congdon has been a civic leader for many years, serving on the board of Communities in Schools of High Point, North Carolina, and as the Chairman of Leadership Giving for the United Way of Greater High Point. Old Dominion is an active member of both the Thomasville and High Point, North Carolina, Chambers of Commerce. In addition, Mr. Congdon serves on the board of directors for the North Carolina Trucking Association, the American Trucking Association, the Piedmont Triad Partnership and the North Carolina Center for Global Logistics. Mr. Congdon has been recognized over the years for his many contributions to both the freight and logistics industry and his local community. He has been named among Triad’s Most Influential People, was named one of three UNC—Wilmington’s Cameron School of Business Alumni of the Year in 2008, earned the 2008 Fleet Truck Innovators Award, in 2010 was named the Piedmont Triad’s Business Leader of the Year and in 2015 recognized on Fortune magazine’s Businessperson of the Year list. Mr. Congdon is an avid pilot who also enjoys boating, scuba diving, golfing, and snow and water skiing. Profile
TWST: Please begin with a brief history and picture of how the company has grown.
Mr. Congdon: Old Dominion was founded 80 years ago this July by my grandparents. The company grew from