Shelley Simpson named J.B. Hunt president

Lowell-based carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. has promoted Shelley Simpson to president of the company as part of several leadership changes announced Wednesday (July 20).

John Roberts will remain CEO and member of the J.B. Hunt Board of Directors. Among the changes, Brad Hicks, president of Highway Services, will take on the additional responsibilities as executive vice president of people. Also, Spencer Frazier will become executive vice president of sales and marketing.

Simpson, 50, will start in her new role on Aug. 1. She has worked for the company for 28 years and has served 15 years in executive leadership roles, most recently as chief commercial officer and executive vice president of people and human resources along with leading international services and corporate marketing.

“Over her tenure at J.B. Hunt, Shelley has worn multiple hats across our business, bringing a data-driven experienced-based approach to every area she has led,” Roberts said. “If you look at the most disruptive areas of our company, from new technologies to global commercialization to investments in our people, Shelley’s innovative leadership has always guided us toward positive results.”

Simpson will be responsible for oversight of all management duties and performance for all company business segments, emerging technology, developing services and people and human resources.

In 2007, Simpson was named president of the company’s brokerage segment, Integrated Capacity Solutions. It’s a business segment she helped to create. In 2011, she became chief marketing officer. In 2014, she was named president of the truckload segment. She was named chief commercial officer and president of highway services in 2017 and led the direction and launch of technology platform J.B. Hunt 360. In 2020, she added the responsibilities of people and human resources.

“I am grateful for John’s continued leadership and growth mindset,” Simpson said. “As our year-long 60^th anniversary comes to a close, I can’t help but reflect on our company’s storied history of innovation. From leading the way as the industry’s first asset-based intermodal service provider to leveraging the benefits of technology for shippers and carriers through J.B. Hunt 360, our people have and will continue to fuel our growth through a cycle of innovation that is intrinsic to our organization.”

In 2021, Simpson’s total compensation rose by 9.5% to $3.67 million, from $3.35 million in 2020, according to the company’s 2022 proxy statement.

On Tuesday (July 19), J.B. Hunt reported second-quarter earnings increased by 48.3% to $255.34 million, from $172.16 million in the same period in 2021. Revenue rose by 31.9% to $3.83 billion, from $2.9 billion.

Shares of J.B. Hunt (NASDAQ: JBHT) were trading Wednesday afternoon at $172.43, down $2.03 or 1.16%. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has ranged between $153.92 and $218.18.

QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
Also Wednesday, J.B. Hunt announced it will pay a cash dividend of 40 cents per share on Aug. 19 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 5. The dividend is the same as the previous quarterly dividends that were paid in May and February.