Head of Freight

District Director – Air & Ocean Freight Forwarding – US Gulf / South

Freight Forwarding | Houston, TX (District Base) | Travel across Gulf / South District $180,000 – $230,000 Base + 35% Annual Bonus + LTI + Benefits

WHY THIS ROLE

The Gulf/South district is the flagship region of this forwarder, running $350M in annual revenue across five branches: Houston, New Orleans, Dallas, Atlanta, and Memphis. The District Director seat has opened after the incumbent's promotion to COO Americas. The new hire will own district P&L, commercial strategy, and operational consistency across the five branches, inheriting a high-performing leadership bench and a strong book of energy, project cargo, and industrial clients.

ABOUT

Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Philadelphia, this US-led global freight forwarder operates across 35 countries with 4,800 people. The business is privately held and family-founded, with no PE roll-up. Trade lane strength sits across the Americas and LATAM, with an established Mexico-USA nearshoring product post-USMCA. Vertical depth in oil & gas, chemical & petrochemical, aerospace & defence, agricultural commodities, and industrial equipment. The Gulf/South district is the flagship of the network, anchored out of Houston and covering five of the top 15 US freight gateways.

WHAT YOU'LL DELIVER

• Full P&L accountability for the Gulf/South district: $350M revenue across Houston, NOLA, Dallas, Atlanta, and Memphis.
• 8 direct reports (5 Branch Managers plus district commercial, ops, and finance leads). 180 district headcount.
• District commercial strategy: new-logo targets, vertical account development, RFQ/RFP wins above $1M annual revenue.
• Service KPI alignment and SOP standardisation across branches in CargoWise.
• Talent and succession planning: branch leadership pipeline and senior hire oversight.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• 12+ years commercial or operational freight forwarding leadership, US market.
• 5+ years multi-branch or regional P&L of $150M+ annual revenue.
• Track record leading Branch Managers or senior commercial/ops leads.
• Vertical exposure in oil & gas, project cargo, chemical & petrochemical, aerospace & defence, or agricultural commodities.
• Working command of AMS/ACE/AES, CargoWise, NVOCC economics, IATA/FMC compliance, and bid desk discipline.

This role leads a multi-branch district across air and ocean freight forwarding. Candidates from single-site branch management, ops-only or commercial-only tracks, or adjacent freight sectors (3PL, trucking brokerage, parcel) are welcome if you can evidence P&L scale and cross-functional leadership at a multi-branch level.

WHAT'S ON OFFER

Base $180,000 – $230,000 depending on experience and track record. Annual bonus up to 35% of base, tied to district P&L, margin performance, and strategic hires. Long-term incentive participation with vesting over 3–4 years. Full health package from day one, 401k with 5% employer match, 25 days PTO plus US public holidays, car allowance, and executive travel budget.

Houston-based with 35-45% district-wide travel across the five branches and key customer sites. Hybrid when not travelling: 3 days per week at the Houston district HQ.

You'll inherit a strong leadership bench, a privately held parent that has backed district investment consistently, and one of the most commercially active US freight geographies post-USMCA. Progression track to SVP Americas or COO Americas. The outgoing District Director moved into COO Americas 12 months ago, demonstrating the path.