AFS Logistics Leadership

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.

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Tom Nightingale

Chief Executive Officer

Tom is the CEO of AFS Logistics. Additionally, he serves as the 2023 Chairman of the Board of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). Prior to AFS, Tom served as President and CEO of International Package Shipping and its operating companies. He has also held senior leadership roles at GENCO (now FedEx Supply Chain), ModusLink, Con-way Inc. (now XPO) and Schneider National. Tom has an MBA from Syracuse University, a bachelor’s in Marketing/Management from Siena College and serves on the board and advisory board of several organizations including Convoy, WattEV, Oakes & Terry, Syracuse University’s Franklin Supply Chain Advisory Board, and formerly, SimpliShip, MP Objects, NextShift Robotics, The Warehouse Education Research Council and Women in Trucking. Tom lives in Atlanta and enjoys spending time with his wife and three daughters.

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.
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Dean Jones

Chief Channel Development Officer

Dean joined AFS in 2008 as a Regional Sales Manager before becoming VP of Sales, then VP of Client Partnerships and most recently Chief Channel Development Officer. 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 Parcel, Roadway Express and Nationsway Transport. Dean currently resides in Dallas with his wife and five children and enjoys sports and spending time with family.

Kevin Day, President LTL at AFS Logistics

Kevin Day

President LTL

Kevin is a proven business leader with several decades of logistics experience. Prior to AFS, Kevin served as Vice President of LTL for Coyote Logistics. He also spent nearly 24 years working for companies such as XPO Logistics and Echo Global Logistics. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Central Washington University. Kevin currently resides in Irving, Texas with his wife Jill. They have three grown children: Kendra, Kelsey, Zachary, and grandson, Kaden. In his free time, Kevin enjoys spending time with family and friends, grilling, camping, and keeping up with current business topics.

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.

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Andy Dyer

PRESIDENT TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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