Board of Directors

Derek J. Leathers, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
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DEREK J. LEATHERS, 53, is the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Werner Enterprises. Leathers has over 30 years of experience in the transportation and logistics industry and more than 20 years of experience with Werner. Throughout his tenure at Werner, he has held integral executive management roles leading multiple organizational service offerings, including the establishment and development of Werner’s Mexico cross-border operations, oversight for the asset operating groups and leading the launch of Werner Global Logistics, which encompassed transportation management and freight movement within intermodal, ocean, air and brokerage. In May of 2021, Werner’s Board of Directors appointed Leathers to Chairman, along with his current titles of President and CEO. He also serves on the board of the American Transportation Research Institute, American Trucking Associations and is on the Executive Board of the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, among others. Leathers is the Founder and National Director of PlaySmart, a non-profit organization that helps underserved 5th through 8th-grade students realize their academic and life potential through sports. Prior to joining Werner in 1999, Leathers was one of the first foreign members of Mexico's trucking association and was based out of Mexico City for several years. Leathers holds an economics degree from Princeton University.

Kenneth M. Bird, Director
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KENNETH M. BIRD, ED.D., 75, was appointed by our Board of Directors in 2002 to fill a vacant directorship position and was subsequently elected by the stockholders. Dr. Bird is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Avenue Scholars Foundation, a nonprofit entity that serves youth education in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Bird previously served as Superintendent of Westside Community Schools in Omaha, Nebraska from 1992 until May 2008, and he also held various administrative positions with Westside Community Schools since 1981. Prior to 1981, he was employed by the Nebraska Department of Education and as a special education teacher at Westside Community School. He is active in local, state and national professional organizations as a member of various advisory councils, committees and task forces. Dr. Bird serves as a director or trustee on a number of civic boards, and he has been the recipient of several professional, leadership and community service awards.

Diane K. Duren, Director and Compensation Committee Chair
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DIANE K. DUREN, 63, was elected as a director of Werner Enterprises, Inc. in 2017. In February 2017, Ms. Duren retired from Union Pacific Corporation, having served as Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary for four years, after serving as Vice President and General Manager–Chemicals in Marketing & Sales. Since joining Union Pacific in 1985, she held a variety of positions in the Finance and Marketing & Sales departments, including Vice President and General Manager–Agricultural Products. In 2011, she was awarded the Creighton University College of Business Alumni Merit Award. Prior to her employment at Union Pacific, she was a certified public accountant with Deloitte, Haskins & Sells in Omaha. Ms. Duren is a member of the board of directors of U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. and serves on its audit committee and is Chair of its compensation committee. She has been active on multiple community and industry boards including American Red Cross, of which she served as chair of the Heartland Chapter in 2010 and 2011. In 2014, Ms. Duren was appointed by Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert to the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority Board of Directors and in 2019 was reappointed by the Omaha City Council and is the current Chairwoman of the Board. She also serves on the Board of Children’s Hospital and Medical Center where she was Chair from 2019 to 2021. In 2018, Ms. Duren joined Peter Kiewit Foundation as a Community Advisor and in 2019 became a Trustee. She also joined Creighton University’s Board of Trustees in 2019. In September of 2021, Ms. Duren joined the Board of Savage Companies, a privately held transportation, logistics, materials handling, and industrial services company headquartered in Salt Lake City. She serves on the audit and compensation committees of that company.

Jack A. Holmes, Director
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JACK A. HOLMES, 63, was appointed as a Company director in 2018 to fill a vacant directorship position and was subsequently elected by the stockholders. Mr. Holmes served as President of UPS Freight from 2007 until his retirement in 2016. He began his career in transportation in 1979 outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when he joined UPS and served in several positions before holding leadership positions in Operations, Engineering and Human Resources. He also led the UPS transition team for the 2005 purchase of Overnite Transportation, now UPS Freight. Mr. Holmes currently serves as the Chairman and a director of EmergeTMS in Scottsdale, Arizona; a director of Sharps Compliance, on which he serves as Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Compensation Committee; and is a member of the board of directors of Redwood Logistics and LaserShip.

Carmen A. Tapio, Director and ESG Committee Chair
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CARMEN A. TAPIO, 57, was appointed as a Company director in 2020 to fill a vacant directorship position and was subsequently elected by the stockholders. Ms. Tapio is the founder and CEO of North End Teleservices, LLC in Omaha, Nebraska. She has held this position since 2017 and previously served as President and COO of North End Teleservices from 2015 to 2017. From 2010 to 2015, Ms. Tapio was the owner and manager of Core Advantage Consulting in Omaha, Nebraska and from 2001 to 2009 served in several leadership positions with Carlson Companies of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ms. Tapio is active in local community organizations and is currently on the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce board of directors, serving as chair for both the Diversity and Inclusion Council and the CEO’s for Commitment to Opportunity, Diversity and Equity Council.

Scott C. Arves, Director and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Chair
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SCOTT C. ARVES, 66, was elected as a Company director in May 2021. Mr. Arves retired from Transport America, Inc. in January 2017 after serving as Director, President & Chief Executive Officer for ten years. Prior to that, he had a 27-year career with Schneider National, Inc., where he most recently served as President of the Transportation Sector from May 2000 to June 2006. In that capacity, he was responsible for all of Schneider’s trucking and intermodal business, which was a $3 billion business employing approximately 20,000 people. He is currently a member of the Board of Advisors of CSM Companies and was a director of Commercial Vehicle Group (CVGI) from May 2005 to May 2019 and a director of TFI International (TFII) from May 2016 to December 2018.

Vikram Mansharamani, Director
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VIKRAM MANSHARAMANI, PH.D., 49, was elected as a Company director in May 2021. Dr. Mansharamani has been a Lecturer at Harvard University since 2017. Prior to that, he taught courses on finance and business ethics at Yale University from 2009 to 2017. He is an author, and his ideas and writings have appeared in Fortune, Forbes, the New York Times, and many other publications. Dr. Mansharamani also advises several Fortune 500 CEO’s and their boards on how to navigate uncertainty in today’s dynamic global business and regulatory environment. He is the Founder and President of Kelan Advisors, LLC and served on the board of directors of the Africa Opportunity Fund from April 2014 to August 2019. Dr. Mansharamani has a Ph.D. and two masters degrees from MIT and a bachelors degree from Yale University.

Alexi A. Wellman, Director and Audit Committee Chair
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ALEXI A. WELLMAN, 52, has been a member of the Board since 2021. Ms. Wellman has been the CEO of Altaba, Inc. since January 2022. Prior, she was the Chief Financial Officer of Altaba, Inc. since June 2017. She was Vice President, Finance and ultimately Vice President, Global Controller of Yahoo, Inc. from November 2013 to June 2017 and Chief Financial Officer of Nebraska Book Company from December 2011 to June 2013. Prior to her employment with Nebraska Book Company, she was a practicing certified public accountant with KPMG LLP for 18 years, 7 years of which she served as an audit partner. She was the audit engagement partner on the Company’s annual audit for the year ended December 31, 2010, prior to her departure in 2011. Ms. Wellman currently serves on the Board of Directors and is an audit committee Chair of ESS Inc. (GWH). She also serves on the Board of Directors of V2verify.

Michelle D. Livingstone, Director
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Michelle D. Livingstone, 64, was appointed by our Board of Directors in May 2022 to fill a vacant directorship. Ms. Livingstone served as Vice President - Transportation for The Home Depot in Atlanta from 2007 to 2021. During this time, she was a founding member of the Supply Chain Leadership Team and served on the Environmental Council to drive sustainability efforts. From 2005 to 2007, Ms. Livingstone was Senior Vice President – Transportation for C&S Wholesale Grocers in Keene, New Hampshire and was Vice President – Transportation for J.C. Penney of Plano, Texas from 2002 to 2005. Ms. Livingstone was Senior Director of Supply Chain and Transportation for Kraft Foods of North America, Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin from 1985 to 2002. Ms. Livingstone currently serves as a board member for Rainbow Village, The Transportation Institute of the University of Denver, Indiana University Kelley School of Business Transportation Executive Board, and AWESOME (Achieving Women's Excellence in Supply Chain, Operations, Management, and Education).