Painting a new picture for logistics, Valley commits to the long haul with creativity

Songwriting, visual arts, design — when we think of creativity, we don’t think of transportation and logistics. However, in recent years Todd Gilbert has worked to take Valley Companies from a market leader in freight transportation solutions to an industry leader in managed transportation solutions, including final mile, project management, warehousing, LTL, truckload and expedite services.

“Some companies view logistics as strictly transactional,” says Gilbert, Valley’s CEO and visionary. “When our customers come to us with a problem, we see it as an opportunity to be creative and add value. With these latest promotions, we're elevating our leaders and empowering every employee to deliver on the Valley Value. It all boils down to creativity—by bringing people, technology and partnerships together, we’re adding innovation to logistics and managed transportation solutions.”

“A lot of other logistics companies are strictly about efficiency and automation,” says Brett Miller, the company’s new executive vice president. “Both are important, but you really have to fit their process and conform to their models. We say the opposite. We follow a creative process to conform to your unique needs and challenges to solve them and solve them fast.”

Prior to Valley, Miller’s past experiences centered on finance and account management. In 2019, he joined Valley as vice president of finance, quickly becoming an integral part of the company’s leadership team and future plans.

“Brett has the unique ability to bridge the gap between big ideas and actionable services and programs—all while ensuring they fit into Valley’s customer-centric business philosophy,” says Jason Mansur, who joined the company in November 2023 as vice president of enterprise partnerships. “In his newest role, he is the glue that bonds our creative ideas to practical goals and day-to-day functions. Brett figures out how we deliver on the promise to fulfill customers’ short- and long-term strategies. He decides who needs to be involved and how projects should be prioritized.”

With Miller’s advancement to EVP, Jennifer Jenkins, former director of finance, has been promoted to vice president of finance. Jenkins graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and has over a decade of experience in financial management and analysis. Prior to Valley, she spent 10 years with Ecolab, in positions ranging from associate financial analyst to senior financial analyst and manager of financial analysis. In her new role, she not only oversees pricing and financial analysis, but companywide finances.

“With her newest title, we’re expanding Jennifer’s role to cover all of Valley’s finances,” Gilbert says. “With over a decade of experience, she will ensure that every customer gets the best pricing possible, while helping us to take care of our greatest assets—our employees.”

At the same time, Josh Yatch, Valley’s vice president of sales, and Dan Knudtson, vice president of operations, now have full responsibility for the company’s sales programs and operations. Knudtson has spent the past several years leading Valley’s expansion into new services, including final mile, project management and expedite. He now holds full responsibility for daily execution of those services, while leading Valley’s full business operations. For over four years now, Yatch has helped to lead the company’s sales and logistics solutions. He now provides full leadership for all of Valley’s new and existing sales across transportation and value add solutions, while helping to retain and grow business.

“Every customer and project is different,” Miller says. “By allowing our executive team to specialize and focus more deeply on their respective areas, that’s the foundation that allows us to be a thinktank in this industry. Within three months of launching our project management solution, we’ve grown to execute nationwide projects for a major big box retailer, with 99.99% on-time performance. That’s basically flawless execution from the idea stage to finished project in under 90 days.”

With the roll-out of Valley’s managed transportation solutions, including final mile, project management, warehouse, LTL, truckload and expedite solutions, “We're constantly evolving and always looking at new opportunities, evaluating how we can change to best solve unique problems,” Gilbert says. “This team, this design—that’s what enables us to come up with something custom-tailored and truly beneficial to every customer.”