We provide web-enabled transportation services. One example is that we match shippers like Unilever and Anheuser-Busch to high-quality truck carriers in our network. We have an app, like many apps you find on your phone, that connects shippers and carriers. Of course, if you or I just drive a truck off the street, Anheuser-Busch is not going to let us ship their beer all over the country. Shippers want to be connected to a trusted network of carriers. At Convoy, we connect a broad range of high-quality small, medium, and large carriers to some of the best shippers in the industry. These carriers leverage our technology through the Convoy app to unlock more choices. With the Convoy app, they have the freedom to determine where they want to go and when they want to return – while still delivering freight for shippers on time and at a competitive rate.
We can also support the backhaul. When the truck has dropped off goods and is on its way back home with an empty trailer, the driver most likely isn’t getting paid for that, this pollutes the earth, it costs money for fuel, and they’re away from their families with essentially no reward. Our technology helps eliminate waste, because carriers get to choose only the loads that they want to take, and they can work more efficiently. Through our app, drivers can control their own schedules and decide, ‘I’m not going to take that load today because I want to see my kid’s first t-ball game, but I’ll take this one tomorrow.’ They’re going to see loads and be able to select loads that make sense for them. Drivers can feel like they’re actually running their own business.
In terms of diversity and inclusion, our industries – technology and trucking – have historically lagged behind. But, you’d be hard-pressed to find two industries that have more D&I opportunities. At Convoy – and, in fairness, given the status quo in these spaces we might be ahead of the curve – we’re still committed to doing more. The reality is that although we are diverse compared to other trucking and technology companies, there is a ton of work to do. Gender and racial diversity are obviously big opportunity areas in trucking and technology industries. It can be challenging for women and people of color to break into these industries – and even harder for them to thrive. The reasons for this vary all the way from being required to complete a road training with a strange guy who tells you he doesn’t understand why a woman would want to drive a truck, to being excluded and isolated as someone who doesn’t ‘look’ like they belong in the industry.
At Convoy, we established ‘Women @ Convoy’, which is a group founded by women here. We want to be frontrunners in terms of increasing the number of women in trucking. Our app just might be the solution for women who need the flexibility of being able to choose which loads they take. This is an $800bn industry, so there has to be a way for women to tap into those dollars. Ultimately, as autonomous trucking evolves, we might even see the trucking industry further evolve and create job opportunities that are even more attractive to women and people of color.
At Convoy, we want to stay intentional about our commitment to people. By doing so, I think that Convoy will up-level the role and image of being a trucker. With our platform, people will have a choice in terms of what hours they want to work, how they want to structure their careers, and maybe even hold multiple jobs, such as a teacher who is a Convoy carrier during the summers. I also generally think that the Convoy app itself will make it easier for those who have historically been excluded from the trucking industry. This is because when you think about it, how do most people find a great job? It’s through a friend, or through someone else who they know well. Convoy’s app is like that friend who introduces you to and gives you access to the best jobs. That’s how I hope carriers will think of us.
We are also building diverse teams within Convoy. I’m incredibly proud of my legal team at Convoy. I was the first lawyer here in 2017, and now we have six members of the legal team and growing. A majority of the team consists of women and lawyers of color. Everyone is committed to D&I and actively involved in activities that support these efforts in our community. The way I think about leadership, including with respect to D&I, is that I didn’t come to Convoy to be a lawyer, I came to be a leader. We’re building something. I am at Convoy in part because I wanted the opportunity to influence the culture and, at Convoy, my voice shows up. I’m heard.
I personally don’t believe anything significant and lasting happens in the D&I space unless companies have diverse leadership teams. You can try to do a bottom-up diversification effort, but I’m not convinced that companies can effectively build a sustainable pipeline of gender and racial diversity unless people see leaders at their company who are representative of the diversity that they want to attract. It is very hard to get software engineers who are women and people of color – and when I say it’s hard, that doesn’t mean I think that gives companies an excuse not to do it, I mean it’s challenging and hasn’t been done very well by anyone so far – but it is doable. My position is that tech companies solve really challenging problems all the time, and D&I shouldn’t be an exception.
In my view, a core responsibility of a leadership team is to both ensure that the D&I pipeline is being fed and, importantly, advocate for existing D&I leaders, including up-and-coming senior leaders of that company. I have helped to drive a number of successful D&I initiatives over the years, including as president of the African American Bar Association (Loren Miller Bar Association) here in Washington state, as a member of the Rainier Scholars’ board of trustees, and as a former board chairwoman for Habitat for Humanity Seattle-South King County, and I have come to realize that if the leadership team isn’t on board – if the leadership doesn’t prioritize D&I – it’s simply not going to happen for any sustainable period of time.
I’m really proud of Convoy for our commitment to D&I, including through the efforts of our Women @ Convoy employee resource group. The reality is that we all could be doing better, but I’m really proud that the team is committed to demonstrating D&I leadership.