John Lyboldt to Take Reins as TCA President; Auto Dealer Executive Succeeds Brad Bentley

This story appears in the Dec. 7 print edition of Transport Topics.

Automotive executive John Lyboldt has been appointed president of Truckload Carriers Association, becoming the third leader of the education-focused group in the past 18 months.

Lyboldt, who is senior vice president of dealer services operations at the National Automobile Dealers Association, was selected late last month. He will take over Dec. 21.

“It is an honor to be selected as TCA’s president, and I am thrilled to be leading a prominent, well-respected organization with rich history, experienced staff and that is vitally important to the success of its membership, external stakeholders and the truckload industry,” Lyboldt said in the statement.

He replaces Brad Bentley, who re¬signed in August. Bentley headed TCA for 10 months after being selected to replace Chris Burruss, who left in June 2014.

Lyboldt, who has held the NADA post for eight years, was selected by TCA’s executive committee after a special task force — led by Chairman Keith Tuttle — reviewed candidates for the job.

“After all of the interviews were completed, it was our unanimous decision to recommend John as the next leader of TCA,” Tuttle said in a statement.

“He brings broad experience in leading both profit and nonprofit corporations. He has experience in motivating large and small teams and possesses strong financial oversight skills. We’re very glad John has agreed to join our trucking family.”

More than 70 applicants were reviewed, the trade group said in a statement.

Lyboldt is taking over soon after the group adopted policy positions against the nationwide use of 33-foot trailers that were sought by some less-than-truckload carriers and package companies.

In addition, TCA also opposed the adoption of 91,000-pound weight limits for tractor-trailers, an increase of 11,000 pounds from the current national standard.

Those positions aligned TCA against other trucking and shipper groups that were seeking longer and heavier trucks as a method of increasing productivity.

TCA’s primary focus is educational programs, with recent initiatives such as crowd sourcing to enhance its benchmarking programs. In addition, TCA sponsors programs such as Highway Angel and Wreaths Across America.

The group’s statement said Lyboldt “is skilled at reaching consensus among many local, state and national stakeholders, improving efficiencies, building teams and interpersonal relationships.”

Before joining NADA, Lyboldt was CEO of the Rochester Automobile Dealers Association in Rochester, New York, for 17 years, managing businesses with budgets as large as $23 million annually.

Lyboldt’s background also includes financing for the automotive industry, insurance services and lobbying.

Bentley resigned in August, citing family obligations in his home state of Alabama. He started at TCA in October of last year, moving to the trade group from Randall-Reilly Publishing Co. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Executive Vice President Bill Giroux and Vice President Debbie Sparks managed the organization in the interim period.