Saia Announces Planned Executive Leadership Team Transition

JOHNS CREEK, Ga., March 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA), a leading transportation provider offering multi-regional less-than-truckload (LTL), non-asset truckload, expedited and logistics services, announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a planned leadership transition that provides continuity in executive leadership to support the Company’s long term strategy. Effective April 28, 2020, Fritz Holzgrefe will become President and Chief Executive Officer.  Rick O’Dell, Saia’s CEO since 2006, will remain with the Company assuming the role of non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. After 28 years of affiliation with Saia, current Board Chairman, Bert Trucksess, will relinquish his chairmanship duties and retire from the Board.

“As part of the Saia long range talent acquisition and succession planning, Fritz joined the Company as Chief Financial Officer in 2014 and transitioned to the role of President and Chief Operating Officer in January 2019.  Today I would like to congratulate Fritz on his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer.  Under Fritz’s leadership, we expect to continue to build upon Saia’s record of success,” Trucksess said. “I would also like to thank Rick O’Dell for leading Saia’s growth from a regional LTL carrier into a leading national LTL provider with revenues approaching $1.8 billion in 2019 and with over 10,000 employees.  I note that the market cap of the Company has grown from $275 million in 2006 to approximately $2.2 billion today.  Most importantly, this success results from a strict adherence to the Company’s values, culture and customer-first approach.”

“Saia’s record of success has been built on a foundation of consistently providing high quality and timely service to our customers,” O’Dell said. “Our ability to develop strong customer relationships is really the result of the commitment made by our entire Saia team each day.  This culture at Saia is rooted in core values developed over a 95-year history and which remain essential to our current and future success. It has been an honor to serve as the CEO of Saia and I will serve as the Chairman of the Board with great enthusiasm.  The Board and I are confident in Fritz’s abilities and that he is the right person to lead and build this organization as we pursue our goal of excellence for all of our stakeholders.”