ADDISON, Texas — Don Daseke will retire from his roles as chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Daseke Inc., effective immediately, the company said Thursday.
He will continue as a member of the board of directors with the title of chairman emeritus.
Daseke is the largest flatbed, specialized transportation and logistics solution company in North America, the company said in a news release announcing Daseke’s retirement.
Daseke’s board has appointed Chris Easter, currently chief operating officer as interim chief executive officer.
Daseke will work with Easter in an advisory capacity to help ensure a smooth transition while the board conducts a search for a permanent CEO.
The company also said the board has appointed Brian Bonner as executive chairman.
Within the fleets of Daseke companies there are approximately 6,000 tractors and 13,000 flatbed and specialized trailers, and a million-plus square feet of industrial warehousing space.
Smokey Point Distributing, E.W. Wylie, J. Grady Randolph, Central Oregon Truck Company, Lone Star Transportation, Bulldog Hiway Express, Hornady Transportation, The Schilli Companies, Big Freight Systems, The Steelman Companies, The Roadmaster Group, TSH & Co., Moore Freight Service, Inc., Aveda Transportation and Energy Services, Builders Transportation and The Boyd Companies — including Boyd Bros. Transportation and WTI Transport — are the operating companies of Daseke Inc.
“I am incredibly proud of what we have built over the last decade,” Daseke said. “Daseke remains a truly unique company, with a platform designed to support future growth on both the top- and bottom-lines. I am leaving the company in the hands of a very strong and deep leadership team across the organization. Investing in people has always been my guiding principle and we have invested in this team, which makes me very confident that they will help Daseke achieve its full potential.”
Easter has been Daseke’s chief operating officer since January 2019. His background includes more than 30 years of operational leadership serving in key transportation and logistics roles with the United States Army, Walmart and Schneider National. For the past six years, he served as CEO of Keen Transport, a specialized transportation, warehouse and logistics company focused on serving the industrial equipment market. During more than a decade with Walmart, he was responsible for overseeing the transportation of goods from around the world.
“We have an industry leading specialized and flatbed platform that is truly unique in the transportation industry,” Easter said. “I’m grateful to Don for his vision and leadership in building that platform. I am fully committed to this role as we pivot our strategy towards long-term operational excellence.”
Bonner has served as a member of the board of directors of Daseke since February 2015. He served as vice president and chief information officer of Texas Instruments, a publicly traded company, from January 2000 to May 2014. In that role, Bonner managed the business and technology aspects of IT operations and was a member of the company’s Strategy Leadership Team. Over a 33-year career at Texas Instruments Mr. Bonner held a broad range of executive positions in business line management, global marketing, sales and new product development.
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