LOWELL, Ark – Arkansas-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a new president.

The company announced yesterday that Shelley Simpson, 50, will take over as company president Aug. 1, the result of a Board of Directors election.

Simpson, originally from Russellville, has been with the firm for 28 years, 15 in executive leadership roles, most recently as chief commercial officer and executive vice president of people and human resources, additionally leading international services and corporate marketing.

The incoming heading of the trucking giant said she is focused on maintaining the company’s history of breakthroughs and advances.

“As our year-long 60th anniversary comes to a close, I can’t help but reflect on our company’s storied history of innovation,” Simpson said. “From leading the way as the industry’s first asset-based intermodal service provider to leveraging the benefits of technology for shippers and carriers through J.B. Hunt 360, our people have and will continue to fuel our growth through a cycle of innovation that is intrinsic to our organization.”

Current president and CEO John N. Roberts, III will remain chief executive officer and a member of the J.B. Hunt Board of Directors, reflecting a change in corporate management structure.

“Over her tenure at J.B. Hunt, Shelley has worn multiple hats across our business, bringing a data-driven, experienced-based approach to every area she has led,” Roberts said. “If you look at the most disruptive areas of our company, from new technologies to global commercialization to investments in our people, Shelley’s innovative leadership has always guided us toward positive results.”

Simpson’s career with the organization began in 1994 after her graduation from University of Arkansas. She was awarded 2022 Woman of the Year in Innovation by Women’s Foundation Arkansas. In 2020 she was named one of Arkansas’ Top Influencers by Arkansas Money & Politics magazine.

Her family committed $175,000 to the Sam M. Walton College of Business toward the supply chain initiative with an emphasis on addressing gender diversity, $75,000 of which was an endowment to Women Impacting Supply Chain Excellence student group.