SPEAKERS

A master of communication and an inspirational force both on and off the podium, Frank Maguire is widely-acclaimed as a business and organization guru, and one of the leading public speakers in the world.

Frank began his career as Director of Program Development for ABC in New York for three years. He then took a job in the Executive Office of the President, serving Presidents Kennedy and Johnson as a special assistant in public affairs and communication.  Several years later, Frank became the original Senior Vice President of Industrial Relations and served as the Chief Personnel Officer for FedEx, in Memphis. At FedEx, Frank was the creator of the communications and employee relations programs that helped make the company a multi-billion dollar success story. He helped turn the phrase "absolutely, positively overnight" from a hope to a guarantee. He was also instrumental in creating the organizational culture and the success that earned FedEx the honor of being named the "Top Corporation of the Decade" by Fortune.
 

Bill Graves is President and CEO of American Trucking Associations (ATA), the national trade and safety organization of the United States trucking industry. Through its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, conferences and other organizations, it represents motor carriers before all branches of the government.

Under his leadership, the ATA is advancing several safety initiatives. ATA has proposed requiring that all new heavy trucks be equipped with speed limiters and supports a government proposal to test the use of onboard recorders. In the public policy arena, he is leading a coalition that opposes the rush by state governments to lease public highways to investors who would operate them and levy and collect tolls.

In January 2003, Graves completed 22 years of public service in the state of Kansas highlighted by two terms as Governor of Kansas. He was reelected to his second term with the largest percentage of votes in Kansas history.

Under his administration, Kansas taxpayers saw the largest tax cut in state history, and many state services were streamlined and privatized. In 1999 he signed an historic 10-year, $13-billion comprehensive transportation program into law, improving highways, railroad infrastructure, airports, and public transit service in Kansas. As Commander-in-Chief on the Kansas National Guard, Gov. Graves oversaw the deployment of Kansas troops to Bosnia, Turkey, and the Persian Gulf, among other areas. Prior to his election as governor, he served two terms as Kansas Secretary of State.

Gov. Graves has been involved in the trucking industry his entire life. For almost 70 years, members of his family have operated trucking companies offering a diversity of services.

Among the outstanding combination of attributes Bill Graves brings to his role as President and CEO of ATA are his ability to create public policy, his administrative experience and political skills, and a life-long knowledge of the motor-carrier industry.

In addition to his duties at ATA, Gov. Graves serves on the board of the International Speedway Corporation, the leading promoter of motorsport racing in America.

Gov. Graves earned a degree in Business Administration from Kansas Wesleyan University in his hometown of Salina, Kansas and attended graduate school at the University of Kansas. Gov. Graves and his wife Linda are the proud parents of their 12-year-old daughter, Katie.