Click here to see all of CCJ’s coverage of TCA’s Annual Convention.
Kari Rihm, president and CEO of Rihm Kenworth in St. Paul, Minn., today received the fifth annual Influential Woman in Trucking award from Women In Trucking. She and other finalists were honored during this week’s Truckload Carriers Association annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
The award recognizes women in trucking leadership positions who also mentor other women.
“Women make a difference in the trucking industry every day, and the goal of the Influential Woman in Trucking award is to shine a spotlight on their contributions,” said Lisa Hartenberger, communications director for program sponsor Navistar.
This year’s finalists also included Elise Chianelli, senior product manager for Safety & Compliance with PeopleNet; Angie Freeman, chief human resources officer for C.H. Robinson and president of the C.H. Robinson Foundation; Karen Rasmussen, president and chief executive officer of HELP Inc.; Shelley Simpson, chief marketing officer and president of ICS & Truckload, J.B. Hunt Transport; and Karen Smerchek, president of Veriha Trucking.
“As more women move into leadership positions within the trucking industry, it will become even more difficult to narrow the list of candidates,” said Ellen Voie, WIT president.
Rihm took over Rihm Kenworth after her husband died in 2010. The company has been in her husband’s family since 1932.
