Management Team

Mr. Stewart is a seasoned executive with nearly three decades of experience in logistics and transportation. During his tenure at CEVA Logistics, a global end-to-end logistics company, Mr. Stewart held numerous leadership positions and most recently served as President and Managing Director, North America. In this role, Mr. Stewart spearheaded the growth and development of the region, overseeing a vast network of operations across the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands. He was responsible for a diverse team of more than 15,000 employees and more than $5 billion in top-line turnover.

Under Mr. Stewart’s leadership, CEVA Logistics experienced substantial business growth and operational improvements, including a nearly 25% increase in Net Promoter Score (NPS) and a double-digit reduction in direct operating expenses. Mr. Stewart’s commitment to operational excellence and his customer-centric approach consistently delivered results, including improvement of on-time service metrics.

Prior to CEVA, Mr. Stewart served with distinction in the US Navy, where he received the Navy Achievement Medal for his exemplary service aboard the USS Inchon and USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Chris C. Ruble is the President and Chief Operating Officer. He started his career at Forward Air as a terminal manager in Atlanta in 1996, he was promoted later that year to Regional Vice President of the West Region and relocated to Sacramento to head up the expansion of Forward Air’s presence on the West Coast. In 2001, he was promoted to SVP-Operations, responsible for all field operations in the company. Chris progressed to receive another promotion in 2007 to become Executive Vice-President where he gained responsibility for all company operations, and all of sales and marketing activity for the Expedited LTL division. Chris became the President of Expedited LTL in January 2016, Forward Air’s largest division, until moving into his current role as COO, where he is responsible for all operations and sales/marketing for the Expedited LTL, Pool and Premium Truckload Service divisions. Before starting his long career with Forward Air, Chris Ruble served in various management roles at Roadway Package System, Inc. from 1986 to 1995, Chris graduated from Wabash College majoring in Psychology.

Mr. Pierson serves as Interim Chief Financial Officer for Forward Air. An accomplished financial executive, Mr. Pierson is an expert in business and financial transformations for both public and private companies.

Prior to joining the company, Mr. Pierson was Chief Financial Officer for numerous domestic and global companies, including Yellow Corporation (previously YRC Worldwide) (YELL; NASDAQ), PrimeSource Building Products, Ecobat Technologies, and most recently, MV Transportation. Jamie holds an MBA and a BBA in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin.

Michael L. Hance has served as our Chief Legal Officer and Secretary since May 2014. Following the departure of former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Schmitt, in February 2024, Mr. Hance served as Interim Chief Executive Officer in addition to his current positions until Shawn Stewart was appointed CEO in April 2024. From May 2010 until May 2014, Mr. Hance served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources and General Counsel. From January 2008 until May 2010, he served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel, and from August 2006 until January 2008, he served as Vice President and Staff Counsel. Before joining us, Mr. Hance practiced law with the law firms of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell and Berkowitz, P.C. from October 2003 until August 2006 and with Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC from September 1999 to September 2003.

Jay Tomasello is Chief Information Officer of Forward Air Corporation.  Jay oversees all aspects of technology including software development, architecture, infrastructure, operations technology and research and development.  Prior to joining Forward Air, Jay had a distinguished career holding various IT leadership positions at FedEx, including Director of Enterprise Customer software development, Director of Enterprise Architecture and culminating in VP and head of IT for all of the FedEx Supply Chain operating company.  Prior to FedEx, Jay held various positions related to software development including leading all software development for a big data startup.  Jay holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from University of Memphis.

Kyle R. Mitchin is the Chief People Officer of Forward Air Corporation. He is a member of the Executive Leadership Team and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Forward Air’s Human Resource function as well as the capacity growth and retention initiatives for our fleet of Independent Contractors. Mr. Mitchin joined Forward Air in 2014 as the Vice President of Recruiting & Retention and became the Senior Vice President of Human Resources in 2017. In 2019, Mr. Mitchin began his service as the Chief People Officer of Forward Air. Prior to joining the Company, he was the Director of Recruiting for Panther Premium Logistics. Mr. Mitchin holds an MBA and Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management, receiving Magna Cum Laude honors, from Walsh University.