Gengiz Nazim, Founder of Texas Star Express, Dies at 75

Gengiz Nazim, a native of Cairo, Egypt, who founded trucking company Texas Star Express and was a former top executive at Epes Logistics Service, died Nov. 18 in North Carolina. He was 75.

Born to Turkish parents in 1939 and given the name Shezade Gengiz Nazim Efendi Hazretleri as a prince of the Ottoman Empire, Nazim came to the United States in 1960 and became a citizen, graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in political science and going to work at Trans World Airlines.

Gengiz Nazim

In 1983, Nazim started Texas Star Express, a dry van truckload carrier based in Allen, Texas. He sold the company in 1990 to Epes Carriers, which is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and stayed on as executive vice president until 1995, when Al Bodford, the owner of Epes, asked him to head up a new logistics services business unit.

Nazim served as president and vice chairman of Epes Logistics Services until his retirement in November 2011.

Kristen Pettit, director of human resources for Epes, said Nazim maintained strong ties to the company by selling transportation services and providing “valued leadership advice and, of course, his famous hugs.”

She added: “We all owe Gengiz a great deal of gratitude for his dedication, leadership and mentorship that he provided to each of us.”

Nazim served as a mentor for youth in High Point, North Carolina, and was a volunteer for the Greensboro Police Department.

Nazim is survived by his wife, five children and 10 grandchildren.