Billy Latta

Tell us about your career path. How did your early experiences in your career prepare you for your role today?

My career at Pyle began part-time in the summer after my junior year of high school. During the day, I worked in customer service scheduling pickups and coordinating appointments, and in the evenings, I spent time on the outbound dock in our LTL operation. I continued in these roles throughout college, also spending time in our warehouse operations, which gave me early exposure to both the operational and customer-facing sides of the business. Those experiences provided a strong foundation in how our operation functions and, more importantly, in the culture that exists at Pyle.

I’ll admit I was probably more effective in customer service than I was on the dock. My freight-handling record on the dock wasn’t exactly damage-free, and I certainly wasn’t the most productive dockworker, but it was still a valuable learning experience!

After graduating from college with a degree in Business and Economics, I joined Dayton Freight Lines, our Midwest partner, where I completed their Management Trainee Program. Working for a highly respected, family-owned company reinforced many of the principles I had seen and continue to see at Pyle, particularly around people, culture, and operational discipline. It also gave me the perspective of being an employee outside of our organization, which has shaped how I approach leadership today.

When I joined Pyle full-time in 2017, I brought with me a strong understanding of the business, an appreciation for culture and engagement, and a commitment to continuous improvement, especially in how we leverage technology to drive efficiency. Perhaps most importantly, those early experiences instilled a lasting awareness of what it means to be both a leader and an owner in a family business.

Describe your role at Pyle.

Today, I lead our LTL business unit and have responsibility for a few areas within our technology organization, including strategy, application development, project management, and business intelligence. As technology continues to evolve rapidly, these areas are increasingly interconnected with our operations and back office departments, particularly as we modernize our platform and transition away from legacy systems.

On the operations side, I work closely with our regional LTL leadership team and process improvement team to ensure we consistently deliver high-quality service in a safe, efficient, and cost-effective manner. A significant part of my role also focuses on leadership development and succession planning, ensuring we are building a strong pipeline of talent to provide career growth opportunities and to support our continued growth. In addition, I work closely with my father on real estate initiatives, family governance, and long-term continuity planning, and I have served on our Board of Directors since 2019.

Pyle has been part of your family for generations. What made you decide to build your own career within the company?

Like most people, I didn’t always know what I wanted to do early on. Athletics played a major role in shaping my path. I played competitively, including time in the United States Hockey League and later in college at the University of Connecticut. Those experiences taught me the value of teamwork, accountability, and resilience.

As I approached graduation, I began to recognize how closely those same principles apply to our business. The parallels between building a successful team in sports and leading within an organization are strikingly similar. Shared goals, trust, accountability, and the ability to overcome challenges together are elements that exist both in a locker room and in the business world. That realization made the opportunity at Pyle especially compelling.

I also developed a deep appreciation for the company through firsthand exposure as a kid by attending our annual town halls, rodeos, and other company events, and seeing the impact Pyle has on our employees and their families. Combined with the relationship I have with my father and the fact that I never felt pressure to join the business, it became a very natural decision. Over time, I saw an opportunity not just to be part of the company, but to help lead it and contribute to its long-term legacy.

Pyle’s LTL network has continued to grow in recent years. What operational changes or improvements have had the biggest impact on maintaining reliable, next-day service as the network expands?

Over the past 10–15 years, we’ve made significant investments in our network that have strengthened our ability to deliver consistent, next-day service while scaling the business.

We’ve added 22 LTL service centers, expanded into full-state coverage in both Virginia and Ohio, and significantly reduced our reliance on third-party partners in outlying areas. Today, we handle more than 99% of our pickups and deliveries with our own facilities, equipment, and people. That level of control is a key differentiator and allows us to deliver a more consistent and reliable customer experience.

In parallel, we’ve invested heavily in technology to improve efficiency, enhance visibility, and better support decision-making across the company. These advancements have enabled us to operate more effectively and maintain a high level of service as our footprint has grown.

As Vice President of LTL Operations, what do you believe sets Pyle’s approach to LTL service apart from other carriers?

It may sound cliché, but what truly sets Pyle apart is our culture.

We often talk about our technology, the quality and age of our fleet, and the strength of our real estate network, all of which are important in enabling us to deliver for our customers. But when you spend time inside Pyle, it becomes clear that our greatest differentiator is our people.

A term we use frequently is discretionary effort, which we define as our team consistently operating above their baseline ability level, going beyond what’s required, and performing at a level that exceeds simply going through the motions. It’s the difference between doing the job because you feel you have to and choosing to do it for the greater good, and it shows up every day in how we serve our customers and support one another.

We believe that culture has been a driving force behind Pyle’s success over the past 100 years, enabling us to grow, evolve, and create meaningful career opportunities for our employees.

Operating in the Northeast, one of the most dense, complex, and costly regions in the country, requires a team that is engaged, accountable, and committed to executing at a high level. That’s exactly what we have at Pyle, and it’s what continues to set us apart.

What achievement are you most proud of in your career?

This is a difficult question for me to answer at this stage in my career. Not because we haven’t accomplished a lot since I joined in 2017, but because I still feel like I’m in the early innings of what I hope will be a long journey.

If anything, I think about my role less in terms of a single achievement and more as doing my part to help carry the business forward. I’ve been fortunate to be part of a team that has navigated some meaningful challenges over the past several years, including industry disruptions like the bankruptcies of New England Motor Freight and Yellow, a crippling ransomware attack in 2019, the uncertainty and challenges related to COVID-19, and more recently a prolonged freight recession. Each of those moments required resilience, teamwork, and a strong commitment across the organization.

I’m proud of how our team responded in those situations and of the fact that we’ve continued to invest in the business and position ourselves for the future.

My goal is to run my leg of the race the right way over the next 30-plus years and to play a small role in helping the business continue to grow and transition successfully into the next generation of ownership. I also feel a strong responsibility to help instill the values that have defined our company, particularly humility and work ethic, in the next generation of family owners. If, at some point down the road, I can look back and say I helped preserve what makes Pyle so special, our people-first culture and our commitment to our customers, while leaving it in a better position than when I joined full-time in 2017, that’s what I’ll be most proud of.