Transportation Intermediaries Association adds new leadership to keep up with industry growth

The Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) announced the appointment of three new vice presidents as part of its ongoing growth plans. With over 1,700 members, the association is the leading organization devoted to the North American third-party logistics (3PL) industry.

Matt Mantione has replaced Tom Malloy as the Association’s vice president of membership. He joined TIA from the Design-Build Institute of America, where he served as director of membership and region development. Mantione has substantial experience in association management from various past roles.

TIA CEO Robert Voltmann said the membership department needed new management to help fuel its growth expectations, so he “sought new leadership in the position,” Voltmann said. “We found that in Mantione, and we’re very excited with the experience and energy he brings to that position.”

Existing TIA leaders Chris Burroughs and Will Sehestedt have both been promoted to vice president of government affairs positions. Burroughs was promoted from senior director of government affairs, and Sehesedt was promoted from director of government affairs.

While both men bear the same title in their new positions, TIA Chief of Staff Nancy O’Liddy distinguished them by noting Burroughs tends to focus more on domestics government affairs, and Sehesedt tackles the international side.

Burroughs boasts over 11 years of congressional affairs experience, and he started his career by working for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in 2006. He serves as the staff liaison for the Highway Logistics Conference, the Intermodal Logistics Conference and several other policy committees within TIA. He has also done significant advocacy work over the years.

Sehesedt serves as a staff liaison to policy committees that focus on technology, operations, international logistics and airfreight. He also represents the association on several boards. Before joining TIA, he spent nine years on the staff of U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana), where he focused on budget and appropriations, law enforcement and small business issues.

Voltmann said the decision to promote Burroughs and Sehesedt was a natural recognition of their growth and talent. He said the association plans to add more advocacy staff under the newly promoted vice presidents as it continues to grow.

As vice presidents, both will be doing more outreach and and speaking than before, including traveling to smaller member companies that do not always have the funds to attend TIA events, according to O’Liddy.

While TIA represents the logistics side of many large fleets, the majority of the TIA’s members are small businesses – many of which are family-owned.

The TIA, which just celebrated its 40th anniversary, has been focused on growth for a long time now.

“I’ve been focused on growing the organization for the 22 years I’ve been apart of it,” Voltmann said. “We’re just trying to grow to keep up with the 3PL industry as it grows. We continue to grow to help our members grow and to better represent the industry.”

A large part of helping its members grow is focusing on those smaller businesses.

“We do believe there is plenty of room in this industry,” Voltmann said. “The pie is continuing to grow, but the technology challenges will get harder and harder for the very small companies, so we are working on different ways we can help them grow and remain independent.”

One of the ways the association will help members grow is the launch of the TIA Leadership Academy later this year. O’Liddy said the new program will bring customized education to various professionals in member companies, including CFOs, IT workers and claims professionals. This will move the TIA’s educational scope beyond CEOs.

The association is also planning to a launch a new website, making educational resources more accessible.

Even after all these years in the industry, Voltmann is still excited to see it grow.

“I continue to be excited about this industry. Shippers are using 3PLs more and more to source their capacity,” he said. “It is still a hugely fractured industry, and that is not going to change. We’re not going to end up with six huge 3PLs that control everything as long as we have a very fractured motor carrier industry.”

Voltmann anticipates continual growth in the 3PL industry, and he is working to make sure TIA keeps up.