A Top 5 U.S. trucking company, Old Dominion has 869 employees at its Thomasville headquarters and 670 at a service center in Greensboro. It recently unveiled the fruits of $8 million headquarters expansion that is projected to increase that workforce beyond 1,100 within 10 years.

The magazine said Friday on its website that the 50 business people were chosen largely on their ability to produce “concrete results” for the company and investors.

“Sure, intangibles and inspiration matter,” Fortune said.

“But what counts most for companies is the ability to generate cold, hard cash. That’s why our methodology focuses on the ability to deliver revenue and profit growth, along with stock returns.”

The criteria featured 10 metrics, but 12- and 36-month increases in profits and revenue “formed the backbone of our analysis.”

Other factors included each company’s stock performance and total shareholder returns over the same periods and factored in each’s ratio of debt to capital. Business influence, leadership style and strategic initiatives also were part of the evaluation.

In selecting Congdon, the magazine cited his promotion to chief executive in 2008 and being able to maintain its profitability during the heart of the Great Recession and beyond.

“During his tenure, he has more than doubled revenues and raised profits by a factor of five,” the magazine said.

“Congdon’s upgrades of the company’s information technology network and infrastructure help Old Dominion vie for business with much bigger rivals, like FedEx Freight and UPS Ground.”

Industry analysts also have cited Old Dominion’s continued reinvestment in its operations, as well as aggressive expand its U.S. and global presence, as major factors in its remarkable growth spurt.

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