2 Allied Holdings Execs Leave, Old CEO Returns

Two top executives at the nation’s largest auto hauler have resigned after a weak fourth-quarter earnings performance left Allied Holdings a money loser for the year. The company’s chairman has also assumed the post of chief executive officer.

Vice Chairman and CEO A. Mitchell Poole Jr. and Chief Operating Officer Randall E. West left the Decatur, Ga.-based corporation Feb. 15, two days after the earnings report was released. Chairman Robert J. Rutland, 59 and a scion of Allied’s founding family, returned to the CEO’s position he held from 1986 to 1999.

A statement from Allied, No. 17 on the Transport Topics 100 list, said the two events were coincidental, but not related. Spokesman Kevin Feeney pointed out that for most of 2000, Allied has been building the autonomy of its two main subsidiaries — Allied Automotive Group and Axis Group.

For the full story, see the Feb. 19 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.