Mark Okerstrom | President & COO | Convoy https://convoy.com/blog/author/markokerstrom/ The leading digital freight network Wed, 19 Jan 2022 16:09:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 https://convoy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ConvoyTeam-150x150-1-48x48.png Mark Okerstrom | President & COO | Convoy https://convoy.com/blog/author/markokerstrom/ 32 32 The Road Ahead – My Top 5 Reasons for Joining Convoy https://convoy.com/blog/the-road-ahead/ Thu, 27 Aug 2020 23:00:00 +0000 https://convoy.com/blog/the-road-ahead/ I am thrilled to be joining Convoy. This was a decision that I did not make lightly. After spending more than a decade at one company (Expedia), it was important to me that my next step be the right one. That meant joining a team and being part of a culture that would allow me…

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I am thrilled to be joining Convoy. This was a decision that I did not make lightly. After spending more than a decade at one company (Expedia), it was important to me that my next step be the right one. That meant joining a team and being part of a culture that would allow me to grow and have impact but that would also challenge me. 

I wanted to spend my next chapter in an environment where coming to work every day was something that I looked forward to. I considered several companies here in Seattle, the Bay Area, the East Coast and elsewhere. And there were some very good opportunities…but I was looking for great. Here’s how I found that in Convoy.

  1. At Convoy, I have the opportunity to be part of building something truly important. Convoy caught my attention years ago – it was hard to miss. As I dug in, the company became even more intriguing. Here is an $800 billion industry (in the U.S. alone) that truly forms the backbone of the U.S. economy as well as many other economies around the world. And then there’s Convoy, with a huge amount of momentum, that is approaching the industry armed with modern technology and advanced data science. It is clear that Convoy has such huge potential to create significant efficiencies and environmental benefits. And in doing so, become a truly important company. Sign me up! I am beyond excited to join Convoy and to seize this tremendous opportunity to build something extraordinary. 
  2. At Convoy, I’m not just taking a role, I’m joining a talented team that is passionate about building a world-class business and organization. Across every aspect of the business, I have been impressed by the talented, diverse team Convoy has assembled and I have been energized by their intelligence and passion. From my earliest conversations, it’s been clear that this is an environment where I will learn, grow and also be able to make an impact. I am honored to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with this extraordinary group of professionals.
  3. At Convoy, I can apply my experience with tech-enabled transformation. Freight is a venerable industry. Considering the many challenges that it faces, it works; for the most part, we get what we need, when we need it. But there’s so much inefficiency in the process. And now that I’m diving deeper into how this entire system works, it is hard to believe that it has taken so long for technology to be effectively applied to solve the pain points plaguing the trucking industry. But it’s now clearly happening. I had a front row seat to see how technology transformed the travel industry and I can see many parallels here. By applying technology and out-of-the-box thinking, while retaining deep respect for the freight industry, there is no stopping what Convoy can do to reshape this massive industry for the benefit of shippers, carriers and the environment
  4. At Convoy, I face new challenges and that’s thrilling. I love tough challenges and there is no shortage of complexities begging to be solved in freight. With data to be mined, processes to be automated, inefficiencies to be ironed out and streamlined – the opportunities are nearly endless. This is a multifaceted industry with complex problems, and I cannot wait to tackle them.
  5. At Convoy, I have the ability to make an impact on environmental sustainability.  My earliest conversation with Dan immediately zoned in on the positive impact Convoy is having on the environment. Personally, the ability to play a part in leaving the world a better place than we found it, speaks to me. I have children and the current state of the planet and what we are on track to leave the next generation is something that I take very seriously. I have strong conviction in, and am deeply passionate about, the company’s mission: to transport the world with endless capacity and zero waste.

This is such an exciting new chapter for me. I look forward to working alongside this talented team to continue on its journey to help solve complex problems of waste and inefficiency in trucking, and in doing so transform one of the largest and most important industries around…

More to come,

Mark 

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