J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. announced that Craig Harper will retire from his current duties as chief sustainability officer effective December 31 and Greer Woodruff will assume responsibilities as executive vice president of safety, sustainability and maintenance effective January 1, 2024. Harper?s career with J.B. Hunt spanned 31 years leading multiple key services, operations and initiatives. In just four years after joining the company, he was named Chief Safety Officer, a newly created position at J.B. Hunt and one of the industry?s first.

Harper would help revolutionize the company?s safety practices and initiatives. In 1997, he was appointed Chief Operations Officer and held that title until 2020, continuing to lead the companies? safety efforts while taking on the challenge of establishing the best driving fleet in the country.

In 2021, Harper was named Chief Sustainability Officer and has since led the company?s focused efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and help customers reduce theirs, including initiatives involving electric and autonomous vehicles and other emerging technologies. Harper was essential to helping the company set sustainability standards and goals, including its ambitious goal to reduce carbon emissions intensity 32% by 2034. In his new position, Woodruff will lead the company's sustainability initiatives, further its operational safety excellence and corporate security and oversee its equipment, maintenance and driver personnel departments.

Woodruff has dedicated his 36-year career at J.B. Hunt to building the strong safety culture the company has today. He joined J.B. Hunt in 1987 as a management trainee working to centralize driver recruitment and application processing before moving into the company?s safety department to help establish truck driver training programs across the country. He has held multiple roles within the company, most recently serving as senior vice president over safety, security, and driver personnel where he kept J.B. Hunt?s fleet of over 25,000 drivers up to date on the latest safety, compliance and technology best practices, among other responsibilities.

Woodruff is a well-known proponent for motor carrier safety, having served on several safety policy boards and committees. His commitment to advancing safety standards in the industry has earned multiple awards showcasing his expertise and influence, and in 2022, he was invited by the White House to advocate support for the Trucking Action Plan, a strategy to address the workforce issues facing the freight transportation industry.