Richard Stocking has held many titles at Swift Transportation Co. – so many, in fact, he’s not sure of the number.

He started as a customer service representative almost 25 years ago and then served as a planner, driver leader, operations manager, area sales manager, terminal leader, regional operations leader and regional sales leader. He headed Swift’s Trans-Mexico division and was an executive vice president and chief operating officer.

As of Jan. 1, the 46-year-old will become the sole chief executive of Phoenix-based Swift after the retirement of industry stalwart Jerry Moyes. It’s a job that Stocking has worked toward since joining the trucking company in 1992. Meanwhile, he is sharing the title with Moyes.

Stocking, who attended college but didn’t graduate, touts his “Swift education” and his relationships within the company as reasons he’s looking forward to taking the reins as his mentor steps aside.

“I feel a lot of passion and connection to this organization because of all of those experiences,” Stocking told Trucks.com.

He will become head of a business that Moyes started in 1966 with one tractor-trailer and now boasts 18,000 trucks, 60,000 trailers, 16,000 drivers and 5,000 owner-operator affiliates. With more than $4 billion in annual sales, the business is the fifth-largest trucking company by revenue, according to the Journal of Commerce, which includes the U.S. Postal Service in its rankings.

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