Lineage Logistics, a temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics company backed by Bay Grove Capital, has announced that W. Gregory Lehmkuhl will become its new Chief Executive Officer, effective mid-July 2015. The company’s current CEO Bill Hendricksen will transition into the role of Vice Chairman at that time.
Lehmkuhl becomes CEO as the company moves into its next phase of growth and works to further expand its comprehensive cold chain solutions for customers. “Greg is a skilled leader with a stellar reputation in the logistics industry for driving growth. He has the energy and the experience to fulfil our vision of becoming the world’s most dynamic temperature-controlled logistics company,” said Adam Forste, Co-Chairman of Lineage Logistics and Managing Director of Bay Grove.
Lehmkuhl comes to Lineage from Con-way where he was Corporate Executive Vice President and President of Con-Way Freight. In those roles, he had responsibility for overall company operating and financial performance, strategic planning and business plan development, and direction of the company’s continuous improvement processes. During his 14-year career at Con-Way Freight and its sister organization, Menlo Worldwide Logistics, Lehmkuhl catalyzed organizational growth, implemented process transformation, developed complex customer partnerships and engineered large business-line expansions.
“I’m thrilled to join Lineage, to work with a talented team of supply chain professionals and to partner with Bay Grove,” stated Lehmkuhl. “We have an exciting opportunity to leverage our vast warehouse network and broad value-added services in combination with new technologies to create something truly differentiated in the temperature-controlled logistics industry for customers.”
After more than 35 years in the cold chain industry, Hendricksen will assume the role of Vice Chairman of Lineage, where he will continue to help support key customer relationships, ongoing strategy development and Lineage’s participation in industry groups and boards.
“On behalf of the Board, we thank Bill for his immeasurable contributions to Lineage. We are pleased that the company will continue to benefit from his expertise and wisdom in his new role,” remarked Kevin Marchetti, Co-Chairman of Lineage and Managing Director of Bay Grove.
“My decision to step down earlier this year was based on finding the right person to take Lineage into the future. Every company has different stages of growth, and each stage requires a CEO with specific skillsets. Greg is an exceptional leader who has expertise integrating and transforming growing companies and possesses the character to inspire our team. I’m excited to help support Greg and Lineage for many years to come,” said Hendricksen.