Gerkins to step down as Landstar president, CEO at end of year

Truckload company Landstar System Inc. said today that Henry H. Gerkens, its chairman, president, and chief executive officer (CEO), will step down as president and CEO on Dec. 29 and as chairman next May. Gerkins will be succeeded as president and CEO by James B. Gattoni, the company's current chief financial officer (CFO). A successor for Gerkins as chairman has not been named.

Gerkins joined Jacksonville, Fla.-based Landstar as CFO in 1988. He became president and chief operating officer in 2001, CEO in 2004, and chairman in 2010. During his 10-year tenure as CEO, Landstar's stock, which trades on the NASDAQ, outperformed the Russell 2000, the benchmark index for small-cap stocks, by 50 percent.

Landstar operates through a North American network of thousands of agents and owner-operator drivers who it refers to as "business capacity operators." It is considered the pioneer of the model and is the largest company of this kind in the industry. It refunds billed fuel surcharges to drivers and offers discounts on equipment and tires. In return, it collects a portion of all freight revenue depending on whether the owner-operator is providing just the tractor or the tractor and trailer.

Last December, Landstar sold its supply chain operations, known as NLM, to XPO Logistics Inc., a freight broker, forwarder, and expedited carrier, for $87 million in cash.