The Averitt Story

Gary Sasser, Chairman & CEO

After serving in the United States Marines Corps Reserves, Gary attended the University of Tennessee while working part-time in the transportation business. Since that time, Gary's vision for Averitt Express has been to maintain a strong focus on people, demonstrated by providing the best service to its customers and developing the full potential of its associates.

Barry Blakely, President & COO

Barry came to Averitt in 1986, joining our sales team in Atlanta. He was named service center director in Birmingham shortly thereafter, and has also served in our regional operations leadership and as Vice President of Operations. A native of Mobile, AL, Barry earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Auburn University.

Stability & Experience

Nearly every member of our leadership team has been a part of the Averitt team for at least 20 years. In this industry, it's so rare to have so many leaders who have been with the same team for so long.

We’re proud of that stability and experience. Most of our leaders started in other positions within our team. Some of them were drivers and dock associates when they started.

It's all part of Averitt's "Promote From Within" culture - usually the best candidate for a new position is one of us, and that's no exception when it comes to our leadership.

We’re proud of our team’s commitment to Promote From Within, as we've seen thousands of associates move into different roles along their career paths over the years, and that trend continues to grow!

Our Executive Team

(By Start Date With Averitt)

• Gary Sasser, Chairman and CEO (since 1971)
• Mark Davis, Vice President of Pricing and Traffic (since 1978)
• Barry Blakely, President and Chief Operating Officer (since 1986)
• Rogers Luna, Vice President of Sales (since 1986)
• Mike Wise, Vice President of Corporate Accounts (since 1986)
• Kent Williams, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing (since 1987)
• Elise Leeson, Vice President of Human Resources (since 1987)
• Danny Crooks, Vice President of Corporate Transportation (since 1987)
• Gina Billings, Vice President of Marketing & Communications (since 1987)
• Tim Saylor, Vice President of Information Technology (since 1991)
• Dan Singer, Vice President of Operations – Dedicated (since 1996)
• Johnny Fields, Executive Vice President and CFO (since 1996)
• Larry Mason, Vice President of Operations (since 1997)
• Doug Lloyd, Vice President of Corporate Services (since 2008)