Trent Tillman has been named president of TrueNorth Companies in Cedar Rapids, company officials announced Jan. 3.
Mr. Tilliman will continue his current role as executive vice president of TrueNorth’s transportation division. He succeeds Jason Smith, who will remain TrueNorth’s chief executive officer and has served as company president since 2017.
In a news release, TrueNorth officials said the decision will support TrueNorth’s growth as the firm continues to operate as one of the nation’s largest privately held full-service risk management and insurance brokerage firms.
“I’m thrilled to extend my role as president to Trent and am confident that the decision to co-lead will support our clients, colleagues and communities for years to come,” Mr. Smith said. “Trent and I have a strong history of developing innovative solutions that serve our clients and benefit the transportation industry. I’m looking forward to bringing that same intention and focus to teams throughout our firm.”
Mr. Tillman began his career with TrueNorth out of college in 2003. In 2011, he became practice keader of TrueNorth’s asset light risk management and programs group, helping to build it into an industry-leading specialty practice. In 2017, he became EVP of the transportation division, where over the last five years he has supported the team in doubling in size in all facets – colleagues, clients, and revenue – making TrueNorth one of the largest transportation risk management and insurance brokers in North America.
Mr. Tillman will remain engaged in the transportation industry through his active engagement with the American Trucking Association (ATA), Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), and Intermodal Association of North America, among others.
“I’ve had the great fortune of working alongside Jason my entire career,” said Mr. Tillman. “I’m looking forward to partnering with him and TrueNorth’s executive leadership to champion innovation and strengthen the ties between TrueNorth’s growth and operations initiatives.”
As President of TrueNorth, Mr. Tillman will evolve his role from not only leading the 100-plus colleagues in the transportation division, to now leading the firm’s 400-plus colleagues towards strategic growth and aligning that growth with operational excellence. The transition marks an important milestone in TrueNorth’s succession strategy to remain privately held and perpetuate from within, officials said.
TrueNorth 2022 Executive Leadership Transition from TrueNorth Companies on Vimeo.
