Welcome to the third edition of Commercial Motor’s Power Players – the list of the 20 people and organisations we believe have the most influence and exert the most control over the road transport industry.
On the list you will find operators, clients, industry stakeholders and a few off-the-wall choices – some you may have heard of, some you may not. Some make the list because they exert power themselves, others because the organisations they lead have power. A handful are on the list because they represent a sector that has power.
What they all have in common is a direct influence (for good or ill) over the transport industry.
In the 22 December issue of Commercial Motor, we revealed those in 20th to 11th places; they were:
20. Dave Rowlands, technical services director, Wincanton
19. Iain Speak, chief executive, Bibby Distribution
18. David Hunt, vice-president and MD, Ryder Europe
17. Jim Hedderwick, senior vice-president, road logistics, North-West Europe
16. Malcolm Wilson, MD, Norbert Dentressangle Logistics UK
15. Hilary Devey, chief executive and chairman, Pall-Ex, and Dragon
14. Graham Inglis, CEO UK & Ireland and EEMA
13. Geoff Dunning, chief executive, Road Haulage Association
12. Theo de Pencier, chief executive, Freight Transport Association
11. Ian Wainwright, road freight programme manager, Transport for London
Now read on to find out who’s in 3rd place.
3. Your drivers
One part of transport life that can either benefit or hurt any transport operation, no matter how large, where they are based or what freight they carry, is the driving community. While truck and trailer manufacturers continue to invest in their products to make them more efficient, arguably the factor with the greatest potential impact on fuel economy is the driver.
Properly trained and motivated, a driver can reduce your running costs and improve your standing with your customer, but if poorly trained and not motivated, he or she will burden your operation with unrecoverable cost.
Regrettably, there have been some high-profile driver fatalities this year (always one too many), but the likes of the Stobart TV series and Motor Transport’s Fleet Driver award (won in 2011 by Grocontinental’s Paul Crowther) continue to reinforce the importance of professional truck drivers and their part in successful operations.
We’re revealing who’s made the rest of the top 10 here, day by day.
Here’s the schedule:
10th place – Tuesday 27 December
9th place – Wednesday 28 December
8th place – Thursday 29 December
7th place – Friday 30 December
6th place – Saturday 31 December
5th place – Sunday 1 January
4th place – Monday 2 January
2nd place – Wednesday 4 January
1st place will be revealed in the 5 January issue of Commercial Motor.
