In today’s rapidly evolving logistics landscape, companies are challenged not only to deliver exceptional service, but also to continually adapt, innovate, and lead.
While operational excellence remains essential for success, long-term growth depends on something far more powerful: the strength of the people behind the business.
At McCollister’s, investing in people is a long-standing priority. In the words of CEO Ray Conlin, “Leadership today isn’t defined by tenure or title. It’s defined by mindset. It’s about people who are willing to take ownership, stay curious, and push themselves, and the organization, to keep improving.” The McCollister’s Futures Forum reflects that commitment in a structured and meaningful way.
Designed to identify, develop, and empower emerging leaders across the organization, the Futures Forum creates opportunities for employees to expand their perspectives, build relationships, and grow into future leadership roles. It is a proactive approach rooted in a simple idea: “People Power instead of Position Power”. The future of McCollister’s won’t be brought in from outside. It will be built from within, by people who are here today and those just walking through the doors.”
From Project-Based to Purpose-Built
The Futures Forum traces its roots to 2017, when former Chairman H. Daniel McCollister recognized the need to cultivate forward-thinking talent from within the organization. His goal was clear: to attract, develop, and promote future leaders who would continue to advance the company’s legacy.
The original version of the program grouped participants into teams and tasked them with completing projects designed to drive value for the business. The work produced strong results, but over time, a challenge emerged. The very individuals identified as high-potential leaders were often among the busiest in the organization, and balancing large-scale projects with their day-to-day responsibilities proved difficult to sustain.
As the business continued to flourish, it became clear that the program needed to evolve. McCollister’s has always aimed to be a true learning organization, one that doesn’t just react to change but gets better because of it. The Futures Forum was no exception.
Now under the leadership of Chairman Daniel H. McCollister II, the Futures Forum has been restructured to better align with both the demands of the organization and the needs of its participants. Drawing from forum-based leadership models used in executive development settings, the program shifted away from project-driven work toward a structure centered on discussion, reflection, and real-time problem solving.
Tom Yoos Jr., Senior Vice President of Operations, played a central role in designing and implementing the new framework, translating the concept into a program that could function consistently across cohorts while staying true to its core principle of open, honest, and trusting communication.
Conversation Over Curriculum
Traditional leadership programs often rely on formal training or rigid curricula. The Futures Forum recognizes that leadership develops over time through experience, perspective, and connection.
Participants are selected from departments across the organization and meet regularly in small groups to engage in structured conversations that extend beyond surface-level discussion. Sessions begin with personal and professional updates before progressing into deeper explorations of challenges brought forward by members of the group.
The setting is intentionally confidential and non-judgmental, which allows participants to speak openly about real situations, both professional and personal, and receive feedback from peers who bring different perspectives.
Felix Rivera, Regional Vice President first joined the Futures Forum as a participant before later serving as a moderator. “Our goals are to develop talent, build culture, and have fun,” Rivera said. We try to mix all those things within the meetings and the retreats. We put a lot of effort into making the experience meaningful for everyone involved.”
Today, Tyler Yoos, Regional Vice President, serves as the program’s current moderator and is focused on carrying the Forum forward for the next generation of participants.
Connecting People Across the Business
McCollister’s operations span multiple service lines and geographic regions, and employees often work within highly specialized environments. This structure supports deep expertise, but it can also limit opportunities for broader collaboration. The Futures Forum intentionally bridges that gap by bringing together participants from different departments, locations, and roles who might never otherwise work alongside each other.
The relationships they form extend far beyond the program itself, and over time, these connections translate into improved communication, faster problem solving, and a more unified culture. The insight that solves a warehousing challenge might come from someone on the transportation side. The leader who transforms a regional operation might have started in a completely different vertical. The Futures Forum creates the conditions for those conversations to happen and trusts the people in the room to do the rest.
Certifications, Retreats, and Long-Term Investment
The Futures Forum is backed by tangible investment in participants’ professional growth. Employees are given opportunities to expand their skill sets through advanced certifications, technical training, and continued education. Whether pursuing Lean Six Sigma credentials or exploring emerging tools and technologies, they are supported in developing capabilities that extend well beyond their current roles.
“We want people to know that we’re investing in them for the long term,” Tom Yoos, Jr. said. “This isn’t just about meetings. It’s about giving them the tools, the exposure, and the confidence to grow.”
That philosophy is reinforced through fully funded in-person retreats, where participants come together to deepen relationships and strengthen the trust built during monthly sessions. These experiences blend structured collaboration with moments of shared challenge and connection, creating bonds that carry forward into everyday work.
That investment earns loyalty. Employee tenure at McCollister’s regularly reaches twenty, thirty, and in some cases forty years of service. People stay because their careers keep moving forward here, and programs like the Futures Forum are a significant part of the reason why.
Real impact, real progress
The success of the Futures Forum is best measured by the careers it has helped shape. Across the organization, individuals who began in entry-level or mid-level roles have progressed into leadership positions, taking on increased responsibility and shaping key areas of the business. The Futures Forum does not define a career path on its own, but it provides a strong foundation that expands perspective, develops confidence, and accelerates growth in ways that formal training alone cannot replicate.
“There’s no better outcome than seeing someone grow into a leadership role,” Tom Yoos, Jr. noted. “When people have the opportunity to show what they can do and then take that next step, that’s what this is all about.” The program reinforces a culture in which growth is expected, supported, and celebrated: a continuation of the values that have defined McCollister’s leadership across three generations.
Looking ahead
The 2026 Futures Forum cohort is nine members strong, representing warehouse solutions, fitness solutions, brokerage, accounting, and sales. An executive joins the forum once per quarter, and Chairman Dan McCollister joins once per year to stay connected to the next generation of leadership directly. A retreat in Chicago is planned for later this summer.
When the current cohort wraps, select members will rotate out and new ones will rotate in, continuing a cycle that has already produced a dispatcher who now runs one of McCollister’s largest facilities and a planner who now directs an entire service line. CEO Ray Conlin tells every new employee the same thing: “Make sure our company is better the day you leave than the day you arrive.” The Futures Forum is one of the most concrete ways McCollister’s makes that possible.