Mark Brakeall is the Director of Marketing, Dealer Operations & Connected Vehicles at Hino Trucks. He is responsible for developing and implementing strategic marketing plans to drive customer acquisition and retention, as well as promoting the Hino brand. Develop and execute innovative marketing strategies to increase brand awareness and drive customer engagement. Lead a team of marketing professionals, providing guidance and support to achieve marketing goals. Oversee the creation and implementation of marketing campaigns across various channels, including digital, print, and social media. Conduct market research and competitor analysis to identify new opportunities and stay ahead of industry trends. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure marketing efforts align with overall company objectives. Monitor and analyze marketing campaign performance to optimize campaigns and achieve desired results. Manage the marketing budget and allocate resources efficiently to maximize ROI. Stay up-to-date on industry developments and emerging marketing trends to identify new growth opportunities.

Alan Briley is the president of Fontaine Trailer Company.  He arrived at Fontaine in October 2010 in the role of Regional Sales Manager and worked his way up through the sales ranks taking over as VP of Sales and Marketing in 2012.  He was promoted to President of Fontaine Trailer in September 2015. 

Prior to his time at Fontaine, Alan began his career working for his father in the family business, Trailer Sales of Tennessee.  Alan likes to joke that he was “raised by trailer mechanics”, as he spent many summers working several “grunt work” repair shop jobs for minimum wage.  He joined the dealership full-time following college and spent several years managing the parts department where he learned department P&L management at the most basic level.

Alan left the dealership in 2002, taking a District Sales Manager role at suspension manufacturer Hendrickson International.  In 2004 he was promoted to Vocational Account Manager – Refuse, and had responsibility for promoting truck suspensions to the top refuse companies in the U.S.  In 2006, he took his first staff position as V.P. of Sales at Aero Industries, a leading manufacturer of flatbed and dump trailer tarp systems and accessories.  

Alan and his wife Karen have three children (Kassandra, 26; Raya, 21; and Dawson, 19) and live in Hoover, Alabama.  They are active in their church and are thankful for the blessing of making a lifetime of friendships in the transportation industry.

Tim joined ACT in August 2017, after spending fifteen years in equity research focused primarily on the transportation, machinery and automotive industries.

In addition to his roles analyzing commercial vehicle demand and alternative powertrain development (i.e. electrification), Tim is the lead analyst in ACT’s transportation research effort and the primary author of the ACT Freight Forecast, U.S. Rate and Volume Outlook. This report provides supply chain professionals with better visibility on the future of pricing and volume in trucking, the core of the $800 billion U.S. freight transportation industry, including truckload, less-than-truckload and intermodal/drayage.

This service leverages ACT’s expertise in the supply side economics of transportation and draws upon Tim’s background as an investment analyst. Tim was a co-founder of Wolfe Research, one of the leading equity research firms in the investment industry. While with Wolfe, Tim was recognized in Institutional Investor’s survey of investors as a Rising Star analyst in both the machinery and auto sectors.

His investment experience also includes responsibility for covering the industrial sector of the equity markets, most prominently with leading hedge fund Balyasny Asset Management.

Jonathan Mason is the Director of Economic and Trucking Intelligence for Daimler Truck North America (DTNA). He is responsible for market planning, economic research, reporting, forecasting, and analytics for DTNA’s Class 6 - 8 truck segments. Jonathan is a 14-year proficient leader at DTNA holding progressive management positions in Manufacturing, Project Management, Data Governance, Business Intelligence, and Sales and Marketing. He is passionate about telling stories through data and using information to transform, innovate, and shape our industry.

As a passionate supporter for mentoring and networking, Jonathan creates development plans focused around Personal, Professional, and Political growth of DTNA’s future leaders. While not at work he enjoys time with family, playing and watching most sports, and supporting and coaching his sons in baseball and track.

Jim joined ACT in June 2014. He is well known in the commercial vehicle industry and the broader transportation community for his analytics, his insights, and imaginative, yet down-to-earth management presentations.

Jim previously was Vice President and Chief Economist with Eaton, a position he held since 1996. He retired from Eaton after a 29-year career there, serving various roles in planning, treasury, and economics functions. Prior to joining Eaton, Jim had held consulting and management positions with Chase Econometrics and with Burroughs Corporation.

Jim holds an MBA in finance and a BA (honors) in economics from the University of Chicago. He has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Business Economics and has won recognition from both the Wall Street Journal and USA Today for top economic outlook from their respective panels of 50 economics forecasters.

After graduating from Wabash College in 2006, Ian spent 8 years in the fitness industry as the head trainer at a Columbus-area fitness center. He then transitioned to a digital marketing agency where he spent 4 years as the Director of Digital Marketing Sales.

In this role, Ian leverages years of experience in marketing, business development and technology to provide high-level strategic growth and lead new initiatives.

Ian is married and has two daughters who, fortunately, take after their mother.

Jennifer currently serves as ACT’s Director, CV Market Research and Publications. In this role, she coordinates monthly and quarterly publication production and distribution, serves as media liaison, and researches/analyzes the Canadian macroeconomic and alternative fuel adoption in North American CV markets.

She joined ACT Research in September 2011, and has served in numerous roles, including Office Manager, Research Analyst, and Senior Research Manager and Analyst.

Getting an advanced degree was always a goal for her and in 2000, Jennifer earned her M.S.M. from Indiana Wesleyan University, taking evening classes to make this dream a reality. After receiving her B.A. from Hanover College in Communication and History, Jennifer began an eight-year career in the travel and tourism industry. Additionally, she spent 13 years as a member of the local and regional media industry, where she worked in both print and radio formats, serving as a radio broadcaster, community/local government news reporter, and special programming producer. After serving in various roles, including new technology graphic designer and pre-press technician, she concluded her work in print media as Graphic Design Department Manager for a regional Indiana newspaper.

Brian leads Chevron’s Renewable Fuels national sales team, a position assumed in February 2023. He is responsible for managing commercial and marketing go-to-market strategies for renewable fuels, identifying new markets and lines of business, monetizing newly developed R-CNG and hydrogen networks and customers, and managing key OEM and JV partners to further expand commercial growth opportunities. 

Since joining Chevron in 2005, Brian’s diverse experiences and roles include 20 years of Commercial Fuels & Lubricants sales & business development, pricing, forecasting, sales operations & enablement, value chain optimization, renewable fuels new market deployments, and enterprise agile change management in complex environments.

Prior to Chevron, he worked at Aerotek for 6 years as a sales manager providing staffing & recruiting solutions to companies in light industrial segments.

Brian developed Chevron’s Renewable/Biodiesel strategic expansion plan to transition California from fossil diesel to renewable/biodiesel across 15 supply terminals and 1,100+ stations.

He managed the design and execution of Chevron’s Downstream agile transformation within strategy, capital projects, and operational process optimization to accelerate value delivery to the business and shareholders.
education

Brian has a BS in Marketing from California State University Chico and an MBA from Saint Mary’s College. 
additional information 

Brian resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and 3 children. Activities include skiing, boating, and global travel.

Ann Rundle’s career has been focused in the transportation industries, since her early years as an engineer in the marine industry. Rundle transitioned to Strategic Planning and Business Development roles in Automotive and Commercial Vehicles after completing her MBA. Ann was with Eaton Corporation for 20-years, with senior leadership roles as Director of Business Development for the Automotive group, and Global Customer Sales Director for General Motors and FIAT group (including IVECO, CNH & Ferrari). Rundle left Eaton to join a small R&D start-up focused on advanced Li-ion battery technologies, and from there transitioned into independent consulting projects focused on developing growth strategies for new technologies, primarily in industrial and commercial vehicle markets. Most recently, Ann was with FIAT-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and headed up their global Strategy & Planning for electrified vehicles, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, battery electric, and fuel cell vehicles for both automotive and commercial vehicle applications.

Rundle holds a BSE in Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering from University of Michigan and an MBA from San Diego State University. Ann is a Director/Trustee of the Chicago Yacht Club Foundation and leads their After-school Education programs and the Grants & Scholarships committee.

Josh Sluder is the Director of Dealer Development at Integrity Truck Sales. He brings 18 years of used truck management experience to help dealers and independents source high quality used trucks and trailers.

As Vice President at ACT Research, Steve Tam is one of two principal commercial vehicle market analysts. Since being promoted to his current position in October 2008, he was appointed to the Board of Directors and became a Managing Member of ACT Research in September 2016. He also leads the used truck market efforts for ACT. Other responsibilities include project and database management; and collection, analysis, and reporting of specialty data series. In addition to being frequently sought after as a guest speaker at industry events and giving presentations to private companies, you will often see him quoted in industry publications, newspapers and business periodicals.

A graduate of Indiana University, Steve has also served in the military and spent time in various accounting positions at two Fortune 500 companies before joining ACT Research in 2000. He has been involved in the commercial vehicle industry since 1993 and has been vital to the growth of ACT Research over the years.

David Teolis, joined ACT Research in the position of Chief Economist in October 2023 following a 28-year career with General Motors as Deputy Chief Economist, International Markets, FX & Commodities.

In his most recent role, he was responsible for providing economic analyses, forecasting long-term new vehicle sales, and conducting special studies for the economies of South America, Africa, Middle East, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. David was also responsible for managing the company’s foreign exchange rate forecast process and writing monthly and quarterly reports. Prior to this role, David served for five years as the Manager of European Economic and Industry Forecasting located at the Adam Opel Headquarters in Rüsselsheim, Germany. He joined General Motors in 1995 as an economist with primary responsibility for economic and industry forecasting for Mexico, and subsequently worked in several finance positions within the company before returning to the economics staff as the Senior Economist for North America.

Prior to joining General Motors, David was the recipient of the Herman Kahn Fellowship in International Political Economy from the Hudson Institute where he worked on issues related to NAFTA and telecommunications deregulation. He is a two-time recipient of the Best Overall Economic Forecast Award from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

David graduated with a B.A. in economics, with distinction, and an M.S. in finance from the University of Illinois. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from Indiana University.

He is past-President of the Detroit Association for Business Economics and previously served on the Board of Directors for Global Ties Detroit and the German-American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest - Michigan Chapter. He is a member of the National Association for Business Economics, the International Institute of Forecasters, and the American Economic Association.

After graduating from Southern Illinois University, Vieth spent six years in city government and education before joining ACT Research in 1991. Vieth became a partner in 2000 and was named President in 2010. Kenny oversees commercial vehicle analysis and forecasting at ACT. In his capacity as the principal heavy vehicle market analyst, Vieth has become an advisor to OEMs, suppliers, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve, for whom he is a frequent contributor to the Beige Book report.

Consulting Economist to the National Private Truck Council 2012 (selected position)

Chicago Federal Reserve’s Annual Automotive Outlook Symposium Consensus Forecast Top Forecaster 2014

Interested in having Kenny speak with your organization? Check out some examples of Kenny speaking.

Lydia joined ACT in June 2021 as a Research Analyst, focusing on electrification and autonomy.

Prior to joining ACT, she spent time as a paralegal before working at an energy management SaaS company. Her graduate school research focused on energy policy and battery arbitrage opportunity in the midwest power markets.

Lydia holds a B.A. in Political Science and M.S. in Global Affairs with a concentration on energy and environmental policy from New York University. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.