In this special two-part episode, Andrew sits down with his dad, Jeff Silver, CEO and founder of Mastery Logistics Systems. This is part one, beginning with Jeff’s life in 1980 at the University of Michigan. 

In 1984, Jeff joined Paul Loeb and others in building what became American Backhaulers, one of the industry’s first and most successful freight brokerages. C.H. Robinson acquired American Backhaulers in 1999, and a key driver of that industry-changing deal was Express, the technology system built by Jeff and his team that helped accelerate C.H. Robinson’s growth for years to come.

In this episode, Jeff also shares:

• His college years at the University of Michigan, passion for language, and early jobs scrubbing yachts and painting houses.
• How he got started at American Backhaulers and what led him to write the industry’s first load-matching algorithm. 
• The lasting impacts of American Backhaulers that live on in the industry today and how its acquisition by C.H. Robinson unfolded. 
• What makes a great seller and the book that changed his view of sales.
• His time at MIT, pursuing a master’s in engineering and logistics, and the path to founding Coyote Logistics, which was acquired by UPS in 2015.
• The challenges that Mastery Logistics Systems is tackling today for major trucking companies like Werner, Schneider, and others.

Follow The Freight Pod and host Andrew Silver on LinkedIn.

*** This episode is brought to you by Rapido Solutions Group. I had the pleasure of working with Danny Frisco and Roberto Icaza at Coyote, as well as being a client of theirs more recently at MoLo. Their team does a great job supplying nearshore talent to brokers, carriers, and technology providers to handle any role necessary, be it customer or carrier support, back office, or tech services. Visit gorapido.com to learn more.

A special thanks to our additional sponsors:

• Cargado – Cargado is the first platform that connects logistics companies and trucking companies that move freight into and out of Mexico. Visit cargado.com to learn more.
• Greenscreens.ai – Greenscreens.ai is the AI-powered pricing and market intelligence tool transforming how freight brokers price freight. Visit greenscreens.ai/freightpod today!
• Metafora – Metafora is a technology consulting firm that has delivered value for over a decade to brokers, shippers, carriers, private equity firms, and freight tech companies. Check them out at metafora.net. ***