In December, uShip founder Matt Chasen stepped down as chief executive, a role he\u2019d held since the company began in 2003, but still remains on the Board of Directors. Since that time, Jim Martell, a veteran in the logistics world for over four decades, has served as interim CEO — and has now been named Executive Chairman of uShip\u2019s Board.<\/p>\n
So, today marks the start of a new leadership chapter at uShip with Mike at the helm. Get to know him a bit more through this Q&A, and feel free to check out his LinkedIn profile for more on his background.<\/p>\n
Mike Williams: There are a couple things that really jumped out at me about uShip.<\/a><\/p>\n The first was the amount of transformation that is occurring in the broader shipping and logistics industry. It seems like almost every business in this ecosystem \u2013 from the largest package delivery companies in the world to emerging manufacturers and startup trucking firms \u2013 is trying to figure out how to leverage technology. uShip is in a great position to lead and influence this industry transformation. I can\u2019t drive on an Interstate anymore without trying to read the company name on every truck and wonder if they\u2019re FTL, LTL, running empty on a back haul trip and whether they use uShip.<\/p>\n The second part was internal to uShip. I found the team to be full of smart, passionate and committed individuals. They\u2019ve done a phenomenal job at building a great marketplace and have achieved a level of scale that can support growth while not being so big that it can\u2019t be nimble. In addition to binge watching past seasons of Shipping Wars, I\u2019m planning to lean heavily on the uShip team in helping me get up to speed on all things logistics. While I don\u2019t have direct experience in shipping, I\u2019m hopeful that the uShip team can benefit from my experiences helping software and technology companies in the enterprise market achieve growth and scale operations. I\u2019ve certainly learned a few lessons from serving large multinational companies as customers \u2013 and this should be relevant to some of our current and future initiatives.<\/p>\n MW: The first thing I hope I\u2019m known for is being an effective coach. I like to see individuals pursue their full professional potential \u2013 and believe that managers and leaders are key to enabling that journey.<\/p>\n If that\u2019s the first thing someone says about me, I\u2019m guessing the second one is disciplined execution. While it will be a priority for me to work with the board and executives on high level vision, strategy and priorities, I believe that real results come from having teams that are aligned and working well together. For me, that means being on the same page in terms of an overall mission that is inspiring \u2013 and then holding each other accountable every week and every day to our mutual commitments. I think this is harder to get right than many people in business appreciate \u2013 and when it\u2019s working well, everyone gets to enjoy and celebrate the satisfaction of achieving great results at a faster pace than otherwise possible.<\/p>\n In regards to culture at uShip, my approach will be to foster and support what has already been established. I\u2019ve seen the uShip culture in action on a couple occasions already \u2013 and am very impressed with the camaraderie between employees, alumni and the broader Austin technology community. I know that all uShippers (dogs and people alike) are definitely ready to move under one roof in our new HQ!<\/p>\n MW: I\u2019m currently using uShip for moving a sofa from my in-laws that live in the midwest to Austin. I found the process of posting a listing to be super simple and had offers within the first 24 hours. I was able to easily compare carriers, reviews and prices \u2013 and the pickup is scheduled for the week of Feb. 20 (I wasn\u2019t in a hurry). I\u2019ve talked to the carrier a couple times \u2013 and all seems on track.<\/p>\n Now that I know how easy this is, I\u2019ll have to resist temptation to shop incessantly on eBay.<\/p>\n MW: While there are plenty that I can\u2019t share, one of the challenging but fun aspects of working in White House Advance was recruiting volunteers from the cities where we visited to help with events. Depending on the location, I would try to staff friends from school or work serve in volunteer roles \u2013 and the best part was making it possible for a brief introduction to the President. It\u2019s cool to be at a friend\u2019s house today and see a photo of them shaking the President\u2019s hand 20 years ago.<\/p>\n MW: I don\u2019t think I can declare it an accomplishment yet, but I\u2019m certainly working really hard to be a good dad \u2013 supportive without spoiling; tough but not constraining; fun but still knowing when to be serious. More to come.<\/p>\n Rapid Fire bonus round:<\/p>\n MW: That\u2019s an easy one \u2014 a ThinkThin protein bar. Chunky Peanut Butter is the standard, but I\u2019m starting to fall head over heels for Lemon Delight. It\u2019s an addiction.<\/p>\n MW: Two answers: The first is anywhere that my 7-year old daughter will consume more than the one food group known as mac-and-cheese. Otherwise, our go-to spot is Vespaio on S. Congress for Italian. The Lasagna ensures leftovers for lunch the next day.<\/p>\n MW: I like to compete in 1-2 triathlons (just sprint or Olympic distance) and 1-2 running races (15 miles or less) every year. Being signed up gives me a little extra motivation to stay in shape. If I seem grumpy for any period of extended time, feel free to tell me to go for a run.<\/p>\n MW: Duh. Warrant headlining with Trixter and Firehouse as the opening bands. I\u2019ve never quite lost my appreciation for the hair band genre.<\/p>\n Mike Williams<\/a> Fun fact<\/p>\n I guess I built up a reputation for wearing really boring socks to work. As a going away present, my team at Accruent enrolled me in a Sock-of-a-Month club. Who knew that existed?<\/p>\n [amp-cta id=’8471′]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today, uShip welcomes Mike Williams, our new CEO. In December, uShip founder Matt Chasen stepped down as chief executive, a role he\u2019d held since the company began in 2003, but still remains on the Board of Directors. Since that time, Jim Martell, a veteran in the logistics world for over four decades, has served as… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":6989,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-company-news"],"acf":{"blog_post_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"blog_post_entry_footer","blog_post_entry_footer_cta":[{"blog_post_entry_footer_cta_url":"https:\/\/www.uship.com\/?r=5666457","blog_post_entry_footer_cta_text":"Ready to Ship Something?","blog_post_entry_footer_onclick":""}]}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Q. Describe your management style and what it might mean for uShip’s renown company culture?<\/h2>\n
Q: What’s the last big thing you shipped, using uShip or not? Have you ever tried to DIY?<\/h2>\n
Q: What\u2019s your favorite White House story you can share?<\/h2>\n
Q. What’s your favorite non-business accomplishment?<\/h2>\n
Q: What food item will you want added to uShip’s Snack Closet of Glory?<\/h2>\n
Q: Favorite Austin restaurant?<\/h2>\n
Q: How do you relax?<\/h2>\n
Q: What was your first concert?<\/h2>\n