When Phoenix native David Jackson was a finance student at Arizona State University’s West Valley campus, he gave separate presentations on two of the nation’s largest trucking companies. Little did he know that years later, he would be helping orchestrate their mega-merger.
Jackson, an Arizona native who recently retired as president and CEO of Knight-Swift Transportation, North America’s largest full-truck freight transportation company, recently graduated from ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Transportation. He was honored by Business as the 2024 Executive of the Year. .
“David has made significant contributions to business and the community, and his inspirational leadership has created and sustained superior organizational performance, making him a role model for current and future up-and-coming business professionals. ,” said Amy Ostrom, associate dean of the W.P. Carey School. He is the PetSmart Chair in Professor and Service Leadership.
Mr. Jackson was named the 41st Executive of the Year by the Dean’s Council, a national group of distinguished executives who advise the W.P. Carey School. At a recent event hosted by the Phoenix Economic Club to celebrate this recognition, he spoke about the experience, history and culture of the Fortune 500 company, which employs approximately 35,000 people and has annual sales of $8 billion.
“I had the opportunity to visit Knight Swift with our team a few months ago,” said WP Carrie Dean Ohad Kadan. “What I was so impressed with was not only David’s success as CEO, but some of the things he emphasized when we met were the culture, the values, and the way truckers and drivers I’m very proud to be the dean of a school whose alumni speak to the values and the culture and how much they care about the people in the organization.”
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Knight Swift Transportation’s newly appointed CEO Adam Miller (left) and outgoing CEO David Jackson. He attended an event to celebrate Jackson’s 2024 Executive of the Year award at the Economic Club of Phoenix.
Photo courtesy of W. Scott Mitchell Photography
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David Jackson (back row, center) pictured with his family at a Phoenix Economic Club event celebrating his recognition as the 2024 Executive of the Year. “They are the most important people in my life,” Jackson said. “Without their support, it wouldn’t have been possible.”
Photo courtesy of W. Scott Mitchell Photography
In 2000, Jackson graduated from ASU with a degree in global business and financial management, followed by a position with Knight Transportation. He rose through the ranks to become chief financial officer in 2004, president in early 2011, and CEO in 2015. Two years later, he oversaw a merger with Swift He Transportation.
Currently, Jackson is a member of W. P. Cary’s Dean’s Council and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. In 2016, Forbes magazine recognized him as one of America’s most influential CEOs under 40. In November 2017, his Knight-Swift Logistics Lab opened on the ASU West Valley campus thanks to a generous donation from Knight-Swift Transportation.
“ASU prepared us very well,” Jackson said. “I couldn’t be more grateful for what the Business School has done for me and what it continues to do for me. Since then, the Business School has only grown many times over.”
At the W.P. Carey School’s recent 2024 Executive of the Year Celebration event, Mr. Jackson highlighted the next chapter of Knight-Swift’s leadership, an ASU graduate (2002 Bachelor of Accounting), and Mr. Jackson. He introduced Adam Miller, who has a similar upbringing. He has established himself in the West Valley and has built on his reputation as a pillar of the company over the years. Miller became Knight Swift’s CEO in February.
“I’m very pleased and excited to have Adam Miller as our new CEO. … He’s the brightest, most capable person and most ready to take over, so I’m passing the baton to him,” Jackson said in a statement. I feel great satisfaction in handing it over.”
Jackson said the confidence he feels in Miller’s leadership abilities reflects the foundation of Knight Transportation. Founded in 1990 by his four cousins with a vision for safety and customer service, the company has grown with the same deliberate intent that Mr. Jackson applied to Mr. Miller’s Preparation. I’ve been doing it.
“This is one of the most important backyard success stories in Arizona history,” Jackson said. “It’s a business that started with personal investment. It didn’t start with state or federal funding as a safety net. It all started with my decision to work in a different way and join a true local success story like ASU, which has seen tremendous growth over the years. It’s fun to be a part of.”
