‘ENTREPRENEURIALISM’ AND ‘COLLABORATION’ PROMOTED BY AWARD RECIPIENTS AT CII’s CONNIE LUNCHEON

ELIZABETH, NJ, DECEMBER 9, 2022—Ken Kellaway, co-founder, president and CEO of RoadOne IntermodaLogistics, accepted the Containerization and Intermodal Institute’s (CII) Connie Award by telling a record-breaking audience about the secret of his success: entrepreneurialism. 

Steven Blust, CII president, noted that the organization was founded at the dawn of containerization in 1960 when both collaboration and entrepreneurialism made the dream a reality. “CII’s Connie Award, which was introduced 50 years ago, is presented to industry leaders who have demonstrated a passion for the industry and are driven by an entrepreneurial spirit. Clearly Ken Kellaway lives up to everything the Connie Award represents,” he said.

According to Ken Kellaway: “By the time I was 14, my father gave me my first forklift truck for my birthday; I would rather have had a bike. It was this same man who then pushed me to go out and get my education, so off I went to undergraduate and then business school, where I focused on entrepreneurship. After a taste of the education life, I vowed I would never get back into the grueling warehousing business again,” said Mr. Kellaway. 

According to Mr. Kellaway, fate had other plans. His parents sold off some of their warehouses and put the remaining business in his hands to re-start as the third generation. “I would need to re-invent the business quickly or fail,” said Mr. Kellaway.  He decided to start a trucking business to support the warehouse operation in 1987-- 35 years ago. 

“Kellaway Transportation was born and we were off and running – one truck and a desperate young man with a big dream,” he said. “Thanks to the support of many of you here today, RoadOne has grown into a national intermodal logistics company with 100 terminals, 3,000 team members with 2,200 drivers and more than three million square feet of coastal warehousing and distribution space.” 

Mr. Kellaway paid tribute to his partner, David McLaughlin. “He joined me in 1992 as our COO and CFO to help grow and run the business and for 30 years he has been the heart of the operation, keeping our company running every day and being the stable force. While I have travelled the country meeting customers, investors, acquisition targets and drinking expensive wine with many of you, David has been there every day.” 

The Connie Award was founded by CII in 1972 to honor those who were investing, shaping and driving the nascent industry.  Along the way, CII added the Lifetime Achievement honor for those who have devoted their careers to the industry. Attorney Jeffrey Lawrence, who co-chairs the International Practice at Cozen O’Connor in Washington, DC, was selected as the 2022 recipient. Mr. Lawrence, who also serves as the executive director of the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association (OCEMA), focused on collaboration as the key to ongoing supply chain fluidity.

“Witness what we have all just experienced during the almost three years of the pandemic—starting with shortages of PPE, then the supply chain and congestion trauma, which we have all had to endure both as active players in the logistics business-- and as consumers. Interestingly, in 2020 the Department of Justice quickly issued guidance and streamlined procedures to provide greater clarity and certainty to encourage collaboration in the supply chain and health 

In addition to the two awards, 30 individual scholarships were presented to students pursuing a career in supply chain and logistics. Since commencing the scholarship program in 1992, more than $1 million have been awarded under the auspices of CII.