AFS Logistics Leadership

Brian J. Barker, Founder and Chairman of AFS Logistics

Brian J. Barker

Founder & Chairman

Brian founded AFS in Shreveport, Louisiana on February 2, 1982 and under his direction and vision, AFS has grown to more than 300 employees in 12 states and assembling a list of over 1700 clients during that time. In 2012, Brian became a Limited Partner in the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons franchise. Currently residing in Park City, UT, he and his wife Kathi support several local community efforts including Christian based middle and high school athletics and inner-city sports camps for youth. They enjoy traveling, camping, skiing, hiking and most of all, spending time with their two grandkids, Helen and Jay.

andy-dyer

Andy Dyer

Chief Executive Officer

Andy earned a bachelor’s in Economics from the College of William and Mary before beginning his career at Overnite Transportation. He then transitioned to XPO Logistics (formerly Menlo Logistics) as a Site Logistics Manager and worked his way all the way up to Senior Vice President of Managed Transportation. His most recent role prior to AFS was President at New Age Logistics where he led a year-over-year growth in excess of 20%. Andy now lives in Atlanta and enjoys taking road trips and grilling.

Melissa Somsen of AFS Logistics

Melissa Somsen

CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER

Melissa brings to AFS over 30 years’ experience in the transportation industry. Early in her career she held roles in operations and sales at Burlington Air Express. For the past 29 years Melissa has held several roles in sales leadership with Overnite Transportation, TForce Freight (formerly UPS Freight), UPS, and most recently with Forward Air. Melissa resides in Atlanta with her husband Sean. They have two children and one grandchild. She enjoys spending time outdoors including kayaking, hiking and running.
dean-jones

Dean Jones

President LTL

Dean joined AFS in 2008 as a Regional Sales Manager before becoming VP of Sales, then VP of Client Partnerships, followed by Chief Channel Development Officer and most recently President, LTL. He earned a master’s in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M University, a bachelor’s in Business Administration, Marketing and Finance from UT Arlington. Dean has worked for UPS, Roadway Express and Nationsway Transport. Dean currently resides in Dallas with his wife and five children and enjoys sports and spending time with family.

Micheal McDonagh, President of Parcel at AFS Logistics

Micheal McDonagh

PRESIDENT PARCEL

Micheal joins AFS with over 26 years of experience in the logistics industry with companies like FedEx, Google, Target Freight, and most recently FreightWise where he served as Vice President of Parcel Services. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history and the Irish language from the National University of Ireland in Galway and holds an MBA from Duquesne. Originally from Galway, Ireland, Micheal now resides in Atlanta, Georgia with his family. In his free time, he enjoys woodworking and spending quality time with family and friends.

scott-matthews

Scott Matthews

President Freight Audit and Payment

Scott joined AFS after spending 28 years in the business world working for both McKesson and APS as the Director of Plant Operations and Baker Mfg., Inc. as the Director of Purchasing and Inventory Control. Scott earned a bachelor’s in Business Management from Louisiana College. He currently resides in Shreveport, has two children, Jake and Ashley, and nine grandchildren Caleb, Logan, David, Abigail, Knox, Bryant, Ida Mae, Ryle and Tyler. Scott likes to spend his off-hours either hunting, fishing, gardening or taking photos.

mingshu-bates

Mingshu Bates

Chief Analytics Officer

Mingshu has over 20 years of experience in Analytics, Pricing and Revenue Management in transportation and payment processing industries. She spent 16 years at FedEx, where she led strategic initiatives in parcel pricing and First Data Corp where she played a key role in pricing analytics and restructuring. Mingshu earned a bachelor’s in International Economics from Nankai University, China and two master’s degrees in Economics from Ohio State University and the University of Toledo. Based in Atlanta, Mingshu enjoys spending time with her family as well as running, hiking and yoga.

ben-townsend

Ben Townsend

Chief FINANCIAL Officer

Prior to his time at AFS, Ben was CFO and co-owner of Airflo Cooling Technologies, CFO at Tread Corporation and the Norris Division of Dover Corporation. A leader in the implementation of new age technologies and informal activity-based costing systems, Ben is a non-traditional accountant who focuses on supporting the organization as a high value-added function and reducing non-value-added processes while supporting the business strategy. In his off-hours, Ben is an avid sailor and gardener. He and his wife of more than 50 years live in Tulsa and have three children and five grandchildren.

Nathan Johnson CIO

Nathan Johnson

Chief Information Officer

Nathan is a long-time leader in Information Technology with broad experience across logistics service providers, technology companies and shipping clients. He previously served as Senior Vice President and CIO at Werner Enterprises and Ports America and several other logistics companies. He has also consulted on supply chain technology with fortune 500 organizations and served in several industry advisory roles. He earned a bachelor’s in both Transportation/Logistics and Computer Information Systems from Ohio State University. Nathan lives in Greenville with his wife Robin and enjoys family time, travel and golf.

Download the Full Q1:2023
Cowen/AFS Freight Index

Reach out to our team by
phone or email

Become a carrier

First name:
Last name:

Motor Carrier #:





First name:
Last name:



AFS client name:
PRO #:
Invoice Date:
Payment Received Date:
Invoice Amount:



Other carrier inquiries

First name:
Last name:



AFS client name:



Have you tried logging in to vendor portal?

If you do not have a vendor log-in, please fill out the following.

First name:
Last name:







Have my account manager contact me


First name:
Last name:






ATTENTION

AFS is directing carriers and customers to direct all inbound invoices to [email protected] or via established electronic submission, such as EDI or eSubmit to avoid processing delays due to the impacts of the COVID-19 countermeasures and service interruptions at the United States Postal Service.

Carriers should contact Carrier Support via email at [email protected] in lieu of calls. We have added additional resources and later hours to assist you and email will serve as the method for fastest response. Please send an aging report with your inquiry so that we may provide you the most current status.

Thank you!