Groendyke’s Greg Hodgen Aims to Be Trucking’s Superhero
As Chairman, He Plans to Spotlight Industry’s Environmental and Safety Gains
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ENID, Okla. — It is a familiar scene when the Hollywood summer blockbuster season banks on a superhero to save the day. This past summer, Tinseltown’s superhero was none other than the Man of Steel himself — Superman.
When tickets to the highly anticipated movie became available for pre-order, Groendyke Transport CEO Greg Hodgen was first in line. An avid superhero comic aficionado, Hodgen — who on Oct. 28 became the 81st chairman of American Trucking Associations — believes there are valuable business lessons to be learned from the comic book universe, and they are values he maintains at the company. Chief among them: collaboration and teamwork.
To prove the point, he ascribed the traits of the superheroes at the core of the Justice League comic and movie series — which counted Superman, Batman, Aquaman and others as members — across the Groendyke leadership ranks, creating a team-centric Justice League of his own among those managing Groendyke’s day-to-day operations.
Hodgen expects his leadership team to work as one, a singular unit that — like the DC Comics’ Justice League — pursues shared goals.
“As I started putting it together, it really clicked for me that each of them really did represent [each] personality type,” he told Transport Topics during a wide-ranging interview from the company’s rural Oklahoma headquarters. “Interestingly enough, they had different components of that personality model. It wasn’t like they were all one type. So, in addition to having a practical application, the cool factor was off the charts.”
Hodgen wants to spotlight the environmental and safety gains trucking has made over the years. (Karen Foote/American Trucking Associations)
As the face of the company, Hodgen appointed himself Superman. But his office is packed with an array of superhero memorabilia, including a prominently displayed replica of Captain America’s shield. All of it is meant to showcase fun as well as vigilance.
“We’re always trying to be a better version of ourselves, and Greg is definitely the driver of that,” said Groendyke Executive Vice President Aaron Harmon. “He makes sure that we aren’t status quo, that we aren’t just accepting what today’s lot is. We should be always working toward a better tomorrow. So, that’s a great attribute.”
Hodgen speaks with employees. (Karen Foote/American Trucking Associations)
Harmon is the group’s Aquaman, a character known for his leadership and strength.
The working environment and morale at Groendyke, Harmon said, is always improving. The senior staff meets often to pursue common objectives, much like the Justice League when they’re staring down a challenge.
“Greg has a passion for continuous innovation, for trying to always do better today than we were yesterday,” Harmon said. “Which makes for a great learning environment. It makes for a proactive environment.
“He’s got the industry at heart,” Harmon said of Hodgen. “We make decisions day-to-day that are in the best interest of Groendyke Transport, but we also make decisions every day that are in the best interest of our industry.”
Industry Achievements
During his chairmanship, Hodgen wants to spotlight the environmental and safety gains trucking has made over the years.
“We’re a really safe industry. We’re really a clean industry,” he said. “People probably don’t know how much we’ve cleaned up the emissions from the trucks. Today, it takes 60 trucks to put out the same emissions as one truck in 1988. That’s phenomenal. We talk about it internally; I’m not sure that the public at large knows that.”
Hodgen with his wife, Shawn Groendyke-Hodgen, and son Zane. (Karen Foote/American Trucking Associations)
That lack of public insight, he suggested, may have fueled some of the pressure on trucking to transition away from diesel.
“It has shaped the discussion around battery-electric trucks, which, I think — thankfully — is put off for a while. Because it wasn’t a practical solution,” Hodgen said.
As ATA chairman, Hodgen intends to share with policymakers, politicos and the public a full accounting of trucking’s contributions to the country. That includes its recruitment and retention efforts, the broader freight economy, and its focus on repeal of the World War I-era federal excise tax on new trucks.
Also top-of-mind is the persistent need for long-term funding for commercial transportation projects and systems, such as major roads and bridges. Central to that is the federal Highway Trust Fund, an account supported by gasoline and diesel taxes and used by state agencies for the maintenance of transportation corridors. Persistently insufficient revenue keeps the account consistently inching closer toward insolvency, but federal lawmakers are working on a fall 2026 deadline to address the fund’s looming shortfall. He wants to engage with lawmakers on this issue.
“I’m troubled by the fact that our Highway Trust Fund is projected to run out of money in not very many years,” Hodgen said. “We’re taking from the general [Treasury] fund to supplement it, and that can’t continue. I would try to talk to individual lawmakers about the need to have a sustainable business funding model.”
That includes addressing EVs’ lack of funding contributions to the Highway Trust Fund.
For more than a third of a century Hodgen has called Groendyke Transport his “work home.” (Karen Foote/American Trucking Associations)
“We’re already seeing this today — EVs are not producing revenue the way we do,” Hodgen said. “Every time we buy a gallon of fuel, we pay a federal tax that goes into that trust fund. But it’s not enough.”
He added, “Our highways are our office, and if we don’t take care of this highway system — the federal interstate system and the national highways — then we are going to suffer as an industry.”
Some on Capitol Hill are paying attention, as members of transportation committees plan to revisit the allocations format specific to the Highway Trust Fund.
Back in July, U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) acknowledged that the fund is headed for a shortfall next year. As the panel commences a legislative update of federal highway policies, the trust fund will be front-and-center. As Graves put it, “There’s broad agreement that the gas tax is no longer a sufficient source of funding for the [Highway Trust Fund]. One major reason is because of ever-increasing fuel efficiency of vehicles. In addition, more vehicles are using less gasoline — or none, in the case of electric vehicles — meaning that they’re not keeping up their end of the bargain in a user-pays system.”
He added, “Since 2001, spending from the [Highway Trust Fund] has simply exceeded its revenues. That’s why we need to find a more sustainable solution that maintains the conservative user-pays principle.”
Prioritizing commercial and commuter corridors in the surface transportation legislative process is what Graves refers to as a “back to basics” concept.
Careers in Trucking
For more than a third of a century Hodgen has called Groendyke Transport his “work home.” He progressed through the executive ranks, from executive vice president, then president and COO, and then CEO; he has been in charge since 2001. The family-owned firm has been in the tank truck business for nearly a century. In 1932, a year before ATA was launched, Harold Groendyke founded the company. Today his son John D. Groendyke serves as chair, and John endorses Hodgen’s instincts as well as his management style.
“He wouldn’t ask people around to do stuff he wouldn’t do himself,” John said. “The important thing is [you] got to surround yourself with people that know what they’re doing.”
He also notes that Hodgen’s tenure has coincided with the company winning numerous safety awards, specifically from the National Tank Truck Carriers.
“That is consistency. That is setting a standard for safety that we really identify with as a value,” John said.
Hodgen (right) chats with driver Bret Woodring. (Karen Foote/American Trucking Associations)
During a tour of the company’s Tulsa-area training and operational facilities, Hodgen engaged with every level of staff. That included Bret Woodring, a veteran driver and safety standout who qualified to compete in the tanker division at this year’s National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships.
“These are the people that … know how the work gets done, and you’re seeing real, everyday problems get resolved,” Hodgen said. “That’s one of the great things about trucking — and drivers particularly — is they’re very committed to getting the job done. If we say we’re gonna do it, we’re going to get it done, and they are the point of the spear on that.”
He emphasized that’s true not just for drivers, but also managers and service technicians.
“They’ve all got jobs to get done, and that’s what drives their day,” Hodgen said. “That, in turn, drives the economy of this country — these kinds of people. And I’m proud to represent them.”
ATA President Chris Spear is excited to have Hodgen representing them, as well.
“ATA is fortunate to be able to add Greg to our distinguished list of accomplished chairmen, and I look forward to working with him on tackling a wide range of issues facing our industry,” Spear said. “Over the past several decades, Greg has built a highly successful career at Groendyke and has been instrumental in growing the company into one of the nation’s largest tank-truck carriers. Along the way, he has lent his time, talent and expertise to ATA, and our federation is stronger because of his invaluable insights and inspiring leadership.”
The family-owned Groendyke Transport has been in the tank truck business for nearly a century. (Karen Foote/American Trucking Associations)
Immediate past chairman and Cargo Transporters Inc. CEO Dennis Dellinger said, “Greg has made countless contributions to our industry and our association, and he has earned his place as ATA chairman. This unique position has the ability to shape the future of trucking, and with the growing number of challenges we face, steady, experienced leadership is needed now more than ever. With Greg at the helm, ATA will continue to prove its value proposition for our members and remain a strong voice for the millions of Americans our industry employs.”
Hodgen’s wife, Shawn Groendyke-Hodgen, says being around the dedicated professionals in trucking inspires her husband.
“I think he takes a lot of energy [from] being around other people who are just trying to make the world better and are interested in solving things from different perspectives,” she said.
For the new ATA chairman, a driving force is a belief in trucking’s celebration of promise; work hard and results will follow. “You can, with the labor you provide — whether you’re a driver or an employee in the industry supporting drivers — drive a career that has certainty,” Hodgen said. “It has great income potential and it is repeatable. And there aren’t a lot of industries that can do that.”
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