Rich Eberhart, CEO
Rich joined Southwest Freight in 1981 and was named President in 1983.
Prior transportation experience included 10 years with the Southern Pacific Transportation Co.
(now Union Pacific) in both intermodal operations and sales management, and three years as a
U.S. Army Transportation Officer with duty stations in Germany and Vietnam. He is a graduate
of the University of Oregon and currently serves on the board of the university's Alumni Association.
Bob Luchsinger, President
Bob started with Southwest Freight as a claims clerk during his
college summers and joined the company full time following his graduation from Texas Tech University.
He has overseen the operations side of the business since 1979. An avid long distance runner, Bob
has run over 120 marathons, spent five years as Race Director of the Dallas White Rock Marathon and
many years on its Board of Directors. He currently serves as a consultant to 10 Susan G. Komen
Foundation 5k events nationwide.
John Jenkins, CFO
A CPA, John joined the company in 2000 after holding senior financial
positions in both the oil and gas and real estate industries. He also spent time in public
accounting with Deloitte and Touche. John is Treasurer of the Dallas White Rock Marathon
and serves on its Board of Directors. He is a graduate of Texas Tech University.
Neen Ponto, Senior Vice President
Neen began her career at Southwest Freight in 1987 as
Office Manager and has been taking on added responsibilities ever since. She came to the
company after 12 years with DJ Sekin, one of the original DFW area customs brokers where
she started as a high school student. Highly respected in the industry, Neen has been
the company key "go to" person in areas ranging from operations to pricing.
Dan Ponto, Vice President, Highway Operations
In the summer of 1980, at the age of 17,
Dan stepped into the warehouse of the Southwest Freight Farmer's Branch location and lifted
his first carton. Except for a two year stint when he returned to his native Indiana, Dan
has put in time at seven of the eight facilities the company has occupied in the Dallas-Ft. Worth
area. He has served in every supervisory capacity in both warehousing and trucking and assumed
his current responsibilities in 2005.
Robert Hooks, Vice President, Business Development
Robert has spent his entire working life in
intermodal trucking, beginning in 1991 with Empire Truck Lines in Dallas. Subsequent stops
include Mallory/Transus Intermodal and Diamond Logistics. He joined Southwest Freight in 2003
and took over sales in 2007.
Debbie Lawrence, Vice President, LTL Operations
Debbie was co-founder of D'ville Delivery
Service which provided local pick-up and delivery service to the DFW and North Texas region
for 25 years. In November of 2007 Southwest Freight purchased D'Ville and Debbie joined the
company in her current capacity.
Michael Luchsinger, Warehouse Manager
Michael came to Southwest Freight shortly after
graduating with honors from Texas Tech University in 2003. He has headed up our Mid-Cities warehousing
operations since his arrival.
Peggy Burns, Manager, Highway Operations (Road)
Peggy joined Southwest Freight in 1996 after
15 years with APL and three years with APL's trucking subsidiary, APT. She oversees the
company's over-the-road trucking.
Pat Gore, Manager Highway Operations (Local)
After six years with Spring Valley Cartage in
Dallas, she joined Southwest Freight in 2000 and became responsible for its local trucking
operation. She also has previous experience in Dallas with Empire Truck Lines.
Jose Elizarraraz, Safety Director
A Navy and Vietnam veteran, Jose has 30 plus years in the
trucking industry as a driver, mechanic, entrepreneur and safety professional. Before
coming to Southwest Freight in 2007, he was Regional Safety Manager for Brinks, Inc. He
holds a number of certificates and credentials in trucking safety and most recently served
as Chairman of the DFW Council of Safety Professionals. Jose is a graduate of the
University of Texas at Arlington.
