As supply chains grow more interconnected and customer expectations rise, the logistics industry is undergoing a structural shift and demanding a new type of leader. Gone are the days when siloed experience in air, ocean, or ground freight was enough. Today, cross-modal leadership is no longer a competitive advantage—it’s the cost of entry.
Cross-Modal Leadership: Hybrid Freight Backgrounds Are in Demand
Globally, various freight and transportation sectors are continuing to grow steadily. The drayage market, for instance, is projected to grow by $2.46 billion by 2030, while the intermodal market is expected to reach over $93.5 billion by 2030. Every sector is growing and changing, with increased demands coinciding with the advent of new technologies that promise transformation.
In these times, executives with experience across air, ocean, intermodal, and drayage are increasingly being tapped for strategic roles. Why? Because multimodal integration is now central to service performance, cost control, and carbon reduction. With 42% of fleet professionals saying they anticipate more customer sustainability demands in the next few years, it’s more important than ever for leaders to bring a versatile background to address these and other changing needs.
Top performers today often bring a blend of:
- Air freight urgency: Mastery of just-in-time delivery and temperature-controlled logistics.
- Ocean shipping scale: Understanding of international compliance, tariff strategy, and port operations.
- Intermodal flexibility: Expertise in handoffs between rail, truck, and last-mile.
- Data-driven thinking: Leveraging digital freight matching, AI routing, and TMS systems across modes.
At GESG, we’ve seen a clear uptick in demand for executives who’ve “walked the floor” in multiple environments. They’re the ones best positioned to lead in an age where freight must be fast, flexible, and globally fluent.
From Fleet to Forwarding: The New DNA of Freight Leaders
There’s another evolution unfolding: a talent migration from operations to strategy.
Traditionally, career paths in trucking or warehousing remained within operational silos. But now, those with deep carrier, dispatch, or fleet backgrounds are being pulled into 3PL and freight forwarding leadership, where customer demands and margin pressures require operators who think like strategists.
The new leadership DNA blends:
- Fleet discipline: Cost control, labor optimization, and real-world logistics.
- Customer-centricity: Building pricing models, SLA metrics, and global shipping plans.
- Tech fluency: Knowing when to deploy automation, AI, or digital tracking to improve execution.
- P&L ownership: Viewing each shipment not just as freight—but as a business unit.
For clients building commercial, operations, or technology leadership teams, hiring from a diverse modal background (combined with a commercial mindset) is proving to be the edge that sustains growth in a volatile freight market. Those leaders with comprehensive backgrounds and expertise are also more likely to possess a key trait to navigate changing, uncertain times: resilience, which can significantly improve organizations’ financial health.
That’s why GESG’s executive search approach anticipates where the industry is headed, not just where it’s been. As logistics networks converge, we’re helping clients find leaders who’ve lived in multiple freight realities and can integrate them into one cohesive, customer-first strategy.