Key takeaways
- Schneider taps 27-year veteran Jim Filter as CEO July 1, reinforcing internal succession and leadership continuity.
- Mark Rourke shifts to executive chairman, highlighting planned CEO transitions and ongoing strategic oversight.
- Q4 profits fell on a weak peak season, but revenue rose 4%, showing resilience despite a choppy freight market.
Schneider National President and CEO Mark Rourke will relinquish those roles early this summer, making way for a 27-year veteran of the $5.7 billion carrier, who today is its group president of transportation and logistics.
Jim Filter, 54, will take over from Rourke on July 1. He has been in his current role since 2022, and before that, he was the chief commercial officer and general manager of Green Bay-based Schneider’s intermodal group. A former U.S. Marine, he joined Schneider, the No. 7 company on the FleetOwner 500 list of top for-hire carriers, in 1998.
“Jim is absolutely the right person to lead Schneider moving forward. He is a proven leader who understands our business and our customers,” Rourke, who will become executive chairman in July, said in a statement. “Schneider’s strength has always been its ability to adapt and lead in a constantly changing environment, and I am proud of what we’ve accomplished together.”
Rourke, 61, has been Schneider’s president and CEO since 2019. Before that, he was the company’s COO, president of truckload operations, and general manager of its brokerage teams, among other things. As executive chairman, he will advise Filter and the company’s board.
“Mark’s reputation for integrity and expertise has long been recognized by colleagues, customers, and industry peers alike,” said James Welch, Schneider’s current chairman, who will become lead independent director this summer. "His new position will allow us to benefit from his strategic perspective, mentorship, and meaningful contributions to the business.”
Schneider operated about 8,500 trucks in its dedicated division and more than 3,700 in its network business last year. Rourke and his team last week reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $22.1 million on revenues (excluding fuel surcharges) of $1.25 billion. Profits were down from the $32.6 million of late 2024—Rourke pointed primarily to “a very truncated peak season”—while revenues were up 4% year over year.
About the Author
Geert De Lombaerde
Senior Editor
A native of Belgium, Geert De Lombaerde has more than two decades of experience in business journalism. Since 2021, he has written about markets and economic trends for Endeavor Business Media publications FleetOwner, Healthcare Innovation, IndustryWeek, Oil & Gas Journal, and T&D World.
With a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, he began his reporting career at the Business Courier in Cincinnati. He later was managing editor and editor of the Nashville Business Journal. Most recently, he oversaw the online and print products of the Nashville Post and reported primarily on Middle Tennessee’s finance sector and many of its publicly traded companies.