- In planned transition, Gollapalli to shift to role as strategic advisor and chief customer officer, remains on Board.
- Current COO Kary Jablonski to succeed Gollapalli as Trucker Tools president and CEO.
RESTON, VA – MARCH 31, 2022 – Trucker Tools the leading provider of trip planning, shipment visibility, predictive freight matching and automated booking solutions for the transportation industry announced today that Chief Executive Prasad Gollapalli, who founded the company in 2013, is moving to a new role as strategic advisor and chief customer officer. Kary Jablonski, currently Trucker Tools chief operating officer, will succeed Mr. Gollapalli as president and CEO. The changes become effective April 1.
I feel the time is right for me to move into a strategic advisory role. I am extremely proud of the company we have built, and I want to thank our customers for their loyalty and encouragement.
Last June, Trucker Tools was acquired by ASG, a portfolio company of Alpine Investors. “Since then, we have worked closely with ASG to position Trucker Tools for continued growth and success,” Mr. Gollapalli noted. “Part of that has been a planned leadership succession. I feel the time is right for me to move into a strategic advisory role. I am extremely proud of the company we have built, and I want to thank our customers for their loyalty and encouragement. I’m confident that ASG will continue to profitably grow the company, develop our team, and expand Trucker Tools’ value proposition going forward.”
Prasad has had incredible vision around how to build tools to solve major challenges for our customers, both brokers and carriers. I look forward to his ongoing counsel as strategic advisor and am grateful for his leadership and tenacity.
Commenting on his recognized industry leadership, Ms. Jablonski said, “Prasad has had incredible vision around how to build tools to solve major challenges for our customers, both brokers and carriers. I look forward to his ongoing counsel as strategic advisor and am grateful for his leadership and tenacity.”
Mr. Gollapalli began building what would eventually become Trucker Tools in 2009, launching design, development and testing of a new industry app designed specifically for truck drivers and the challenges they faced running a business while on the road. Starting with a user base of some 100,000 truckers and a handful of brokers, the smartphone-based app initially provided one of the first simple-to-implement, real-time visibility solutions for truckload shipments as well as other useful tools. Next came predictive freight matching, automated “one-click” booking, upgraded visibility and carrier support tools, building out a menu of 17 of the most sought-after tools truckers wanted for managing their business, and for brokers to dramatically improve engagement with carriers and efficient access to reliable capacity.
Trucker Tools was “bootstrapped” in its development, Mr. Gollapalli said, recalling early days when he sold property, cashed in his retirement, and maxed out numerous credit cards to keep the company going. “We never missed a payroll,” he said. “And we never went the venture capital route.” Later rounds of funding were secured from private sources, including friends, family and business associates who saw what the Trucker Tools vision could become, Mr. Gollapalli added.
Today, the Trucker Tools carrier engagement and management app has been downloaded by some 1.7 million truckers, has nearly 190,000 small-fleet truckload operators active on its carrier engagement platform, with over 90 percent of those running 10 trucks or less, as well as single-truck owner-operators. ‘Micro’ truckload fleets and independent owner operators are the backbone of the Trucker Tools carrier community, leveraging its digital freight matching, one-click simplified automated booking, automated load tracking and carrier relationship management software and services, Mr. Gollapalli said.
Nearly 375 freight brokers and 3PLs also use Trucker Tools to secure and manage truckload capacity and build better engagement and visibility compliance with thousands of truckers. The mobile driver app remains one of the transportation industry’s most-downloaded apps each month.
As CEO, my primary focus will be on our people and developing a team that believes deeply in our mission and taking Trucker Tools far beyond where we are today
“Trucker Tools is built on a unique combination of cutting-edge technology and great customer and employee relationships. As CEO, my primary focus will be on our people and developing a team that believes deeply in our mission and taking Trucker Tools far beyond where we are today,” said Ms. Jablonski. “Our industry is the backbone of the nation’s economy, and it’s changing faster than ever. We will continue to build tools to help brokers and carriers find, book, and track freight seamlessly, while innovating to accelerate the digital transformation of freight.”
Ms. Jablonski joined Trucker Tools last year. She’d previously advanced through logistics, operational and strategic planning roles with Uber in the U.S. and internationally and worked as a consultant with Deloitte.
The Trucker Tools mobile app is available for both Android- and Apple-powered smartphones and is provided free of charge to independent truckers and small fleets.
About Trucker Tools: Trucker Tools, based in Reston, Va., is the leading provider of trip planning, shipment visibility, predictive freight matching and automated booking solutions for the transportation industry. Its ground-breaking Smart Capacity® platform uses accurate, real-time data and powerful algorithms to optimally match freight by predicting when and where capacity will become available, days in advance. The company’s popular driver smartphone app has been downloaded by over 1.7 million owner operators and small-carrier fleets to access information and services conveniently while on the road. Included in the smartphone app is Book It Now®, the industry’s first digital load booking app that automates and streamlines the load search and booking process for drivers and brokers, saving time and money. Trucker Tools load tracking solution is a robust feature in the app that connects drivers with carriers and freight brokers, automating the provision and collection of real-time shipment tracking and eliminating manual check calls.
