Many young college grads would be happy working for a large, well established company, especially if the slot put the young graduate on a glide path towards corporate success. This was not the case with Ted Alling. At the ripe age of 24, Alling and two friends from college decided to strike out on their own. Starting in a back office of a small Chattanooga-based construction supply company, Alling decided to take on his former employer and created Access America Transport (AAT).
Since its founding in 2002, AAT has carved out a niche as the middleman between trucking companies and shippers, using organic technology to help companies keep their trailers full and shippers move their freight efficiently. Currently, AAT has some 6,000 customers including 100 members of the Fortune 500.
Alling grafted a combination of an entrepreneurial spirit and devotion to customer satisfaction onto Access America Transport. “Access America is a people company,” says Alling, “A people company that does third party logistics.” Alling believes that as CEO, it is incumbent upon him to raise the energy level of his company. Yet, he continuously monitors the well being of each and every employee and satisfaction of each customer.
Alling is the first to say he is not an innovator. He does stress that AAT’s corporate innovation comes in two forms. The first is a high sense of urgency to the execution of transporting goods on behalf of AAT’s customers. Second, Alling strives to get smart people interested in an industry that many would not usually consider for a career path. Today, AAT’s employees more than 600-people and generates annual revenues in excess of $500 million. Operational excellence is maintained by utilizing off-the-shelf and homegrown technologies which allow AAT to drive efficiencies across all modes of transportation including truckload, intermodal and specialized freight.
Outside of AAT, Alling hopes to cultivate future generations of entrepreneurs. In this vein, Alling and his partners created the Lamp Post Group – a venture capital and small business incubator. Lamp Post’s goal is to assist aspiring entrepreneurs take their ideas from the planning stages to reality through financial investment and business guidance.
AAT sits at #9 on Forbes’ list of America’s Most Promising companies and Alling was recently named as one of the South’s leading young entrepreneurs by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama Foundation.
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Ted Alling
Title: Co-Founder & CEO – Access America Transport
Size: 600-Employees
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Goal: Double the workforce, break the $1-billion revenue barrier, while making Access America Transport the best place to work in America.
Fact: A shipment bound from Nashville to Los Angeles ran into trouble. The only way to get the delivery to the customer on time was through chartering a jet. The company lost $35,000 but the customer got their delivery.
Unique: Access America Transport has a “Bring Your Instrument to Work Day” where music fosters a sense of company as community.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
