What is it that sets a great leader apart? It is undeniable that in today's competitive business world a CEO must contain certain qualities to be successful. But what it is that makes a good CEO into a great CEO? Arguably certain qualities such as courage, decision-making, and the ability to manage, are vitally important to any good leader. But every now and again a leader stands out as not just good, but as great. Here at Zip Xpress, we truly believe our CEO is one of those great leaders. It is her ability not only to inspire; but also to strive to make the company, and more importantly the industry as a whole, better. CEO Dina McKnight stands out as a great leader because she has made it her goal to better an industry that is struggling not only to stay afloat, but also to fight growing stereotypes that are destructive to trucking. In today's world, finding a woman in a position of power in business is not an easy task. With only 14.6% of executive offices being held by a woman, and an even smaller 4.8% of CEO offices belonging to women, it's undeniable that we work in a male dominated work force. Look even closer into the trucking world, and the percentage of women earners is even smaller. So what is it that makes this company that much more special: our CEO. She is not only a female leader in an industry that is over 96% male dominated, but she is leading a company that is doing something that has never been done in trucking: focusing on nothing but sustainability in an industry that has little to no standards of such sustainability.Zip Xpress stands out in the crowd because it is doing something that no other business has successfully been able to do: ship LTL shipments on time, across 3 countries. Zip's model is a one-of-a-kind model that hasn't been successfully accomplished by anyone else in this industry, and Dina leads the charge every day. She inspires those at the office to continually strive to be better, and to make changes in an industry that is stuck in the ways of the past. Dina's focus on sustainability boils down to one thing, "To me sustainability is doing something within your company to not only sustain your own business but to sustain the businesses around you". It is her courageous leadership that led to partnerships with corporations such as Haworth Inc., and Dematic, that continues to make Zip's model one of the only truly sustainable trucking companies in the US. Her leadership has effectively led to saving 79,858 gallons of fuel, 659,626 miles of efficiency, and 1,941,013lbs of CO2 in this year alone. She has led us to not only one of the best sustainability reports to date, but also to the most financially prosperous year since the founding of the company. Her leadership is truly to be admired, and worthy of admiration.We are so proud to announce that Dina has made it as a finalist in the Ethical Corporations Responsible Business Awards 2014, and we could not be happier to have her hard work recognized by an international company. Zip was also shortlisted in their awards for our partnership and relationship with Haworth, Inc. It is nice to see LTL trucking starting to earn the name it truly deserves, and to see our company recognized on an international level for creating such a simple solution to such a massive growing problem.
