Key takeaways
- Mari Roberts’ career at PepsiCo shows how CTP and PFMI build strong fleet leadership pipelines.
- Her experience highlights balancing cost, safety, and driver retention in private fleet operations.
- Her NPTC involvement shows how networking accelerates adoption of best practices.
“I always try to learn something new not only for my own development but to help build the capability of those around me,” Mari Roberts, CTP, PepsiCo SVP of North American supply chain COEs and board chair of the NPTC Board of Directors, said.
Roberts has worked her entire 26-year career for PepsiCo. She has been promoted numerous times to progressively more responsible positions as manager, director, senior director, vice president, and senior vice president.
Her interest in transportation began in college. She studied supply chain management at Arizona State University, where she became fascinated by the logistics/transportation industry. She began her career at the Frito-Lay Casa Grande plant as network manager and then moved up to traffic department manager.
“Coming out of college, I had an immediate respect for the Frito-Lay drivers, and I wanted to make a difference for them,” she recalled. “The ever-changing environment the transportation industry offers is right up my alley.”
Building a private fleet career through CTP and continuous learning
After several years in the field, she joined the Plano HQ Transportation Team as the west division network efficiency manager, supporting 11 traffic centers. Later, Roberts was promoted to logistics capability manager, developing the National Capability Strategy for Transportation.
In 2009, she decided to pursue her Certified Transportation Professional (CTP) credential. She attended the Private Fleet Management Institute, gave her first general session speech at an NPTC event, and graduated with the CTP Class of 2009 at the NPTC Annual Conference.
In 2010, Roberts was one of five volunteers who helped grade the case study portion of the CTP Exam. She was elected that year to serve as a member of the NPTC Institute Board of Governors and was voted in as the new board chair a few years later.
“When I first got involved, I knew NPTC and the CTP program were exactly the industry connections I needed because they focus on priorities that fleets face day to day," Roberts said. "At PepsiCo, optimization and continuous improvement are major priorities. This means hauling more products at the least landed cost, balancing driver retention, safety, service, and outside carrier capacity.”
Roberts said learning about the optimization experience of other NPTC members helped immensely. “A company of PepsiCo’s size obviously has great resources, but it’s not feasible to discover every innovation on our own. I have taken away some amazing ideas from CTP fleet managers from many different industries, some with as few as 20 trucks. The networking power of CTPs is just incredible.”
Scaling fleet performance through leadership, networking, and NPTC
“Mari’s 17-year volunteer leadership career with NPTC has been one of the most productive and impactful I have ever seen,” said Tom Moore, CTP, NPTC’s EVP, who recognized her leadership potential when she was an attendee at the Private Fleet Management Institute.
“She has been an inspiration, mentor, and personal role model to hundreds of CTPs from a broad range of member companies across the industry. For many years, she served as CTP Exam grader and chair of the CTP Exam Committee,” Moore said.
“True transportation expertise now carries a high premium because transportation itself demands greater priority and requires laser-like focus. The CTP program has become more relevant, valuable, and critical than 10 years ago.”
“Mari pioneered a best practice at PepsiCo in which PFMI and CTP candidates were selected based on achieving job performance criteria for excellence,” Moore said. “Over time, many NPTC companies have adopted variations of this idea in choosing their own future PFMI/CTP candidates.”
For 16 years, Roberts has been a faculty member of the Private Fleet Management Institute; served for eight years as chair of the NPTC Institute Board of Governors; and served for five years as Executive Committee member, board secretary, and vice chair. She will soon begin a two-year term as board chair of the NPTC Board of Directors.
Roberts has been a featured speaker, panelist, or workshop moderator at NPTC conferences and online webcasts. Over the years, Roberts has made numerous guest appearances on Sirius XM Satellite Radio’s Road Dog Trucking channel, sharing her career-long passion for drivers, their success, and their recognition for incredible contributions.
During Roberts' active years with NPTC and the CTP program, 44 PepsiCo leaders have earned their CTP designation, including four who were honored as “Top CTP Graduates” of the year, according to Kristen Todd, NPTC director of education and certification. Many were inspired by her direct encouragement and leadership example.
Nineteen of these successfully completed the Private Fleet Management Institute as a group in 2010, the largest representation ever from a single company. “A lot of us recognize Mari as one of the greatest champions of CTPs in the program’s 33-year history,” Todd said. “Being around so many outstanding transportation professionals at every NPTC event exposes us to fresh, innovative, and creative approaches to many of the problems we face every day.”
In 2013, Roberts was recognized for her leadership by being selected for the NPTC Private Fleet Manager of the Year award. In 2017, she was honored as the NPTC Private Fleet Executive of the Year award.
Beth Mars, CTP, transportation director at PepsiCo, Top CTP Graduate of her CTP Class of 2014, member of the NPTC Institute Board of Governors, protégé of Robert, and long-standing colleague and friend, stated, “Mari’s infectious enthusiasm and leadership have positively influenced so many people, me included. She is a legendary star in the private fleet industry.”
About the Author
Gary Petty
Gary Petty has more than three decades of experience as a CEO of national trade associations in the trucking industry. Since 2001, he has served as president and CEO of the National Private Truck Council, the national trade association founded in 1939, representing the private motor carrier industry. Petty is the Private Fleet Editor and columnist for FleetOwner, where he writes monthly articles about successful managers and business models in the private fleet market.