KC: Hello gentlemen and thank you so much for being a part of the Mentoring Program and stepping into the Spotlight to share your journey. I’ll start with you James, I’m so glad we get to hear from you.
KC: James, please tell our readers about Revolution Trucking and your services.
JA: Revolution offers a comprehensive range of freight services encompassing truckload, less-than-truckload, rail, air, and ocean. Revolution brings the necessary responsiveness and predictability to an uncertain world. We employ a unique hybrid transportation model: an asset-based carrier and a full-service logistics service provider (LSP) for managed transportation solutions.
KC: How has being a person with a disability enabled you to develop your superpowers and tenacity to be a CEO and run a successful business?
JA: Experiencing end-stage renal failure in the middle of my career instilled in me compassion, tenacity, and the ability to take challenges head-on. All of these traits are critical to building, motivating, and rewarding high-performing teams. The success we’ve enjoyed at Revolution is about the people, not the company itself.
KC: How has being a certified DOBE with Disability:IN affected your business and not just from getting a contract signed, but also the various programming, peer support, educational sessions and networking opportunities offered?
JA: Disability:IN has provided opportunities you cannot find anywhere else. The organization has helped Revolution hone our unique value proposition (UVP), learn best practices across a myriad of functional areas, and get the opportunity to meet numerous successful people at Fortune 500 companies.
KC: Can you tell us about your mentoring time with Jackson and the Cargill team?
JA: Our willingness to learn at Revolution has been one of our key differentiators. Getting to know Jackson and learning more about Cargill has been phenomenal; however, the real payoff is gaining a better understanding about what it takes to be successful as a diverse supplier. Thank you, Jackson!
KC: What objective(s) have you worked on during the past months that you have achieved (or ongoing) that has helped you have a clear path to the next step?
JA: Revolution prides itself on not having salespeople. We don’t ask for business; instead, we focus our energy on developing deeper relationships. When the time is right, Revolution will be included because there is a real need and Revolution is a company people want to work with.
KC: Your based in Ohio, US and Jackson is in Spain, have you had any difficulty around that? As the program is growing globally, I want our future participants to feel comfortable with that and not be afraid to expand their global relations. Your thoughts?
JA: I’ve been fortunate in my 35 years career as I’ve lived in Europe and overseen operations in over 90 countries, having personally travelled to 49 of them. My comfort in working with people around the world made our interactions natural and seamless.
KC: Has anything surprised you that you have learned about yourself from participating in the mentoring program?
JA: Jackson’s career has taken him to APAC, EMEA, and LATAM. Learning more about his personal journey has motived me to broaden our scope of services at Revolution, particularly ocean and air freight.
KC: Do you have any advice or encouragement for future mentees that are considering joining and why they should take advantage of the DOBE Mentoring Program?
JA: Having frequent access to someone as experienced as Jackson has been a delight. Not only have I found a mentor and champion, but a life-long friend.
KC: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about Disability:IN?
JA: The energy and hard work DOBE leadership brings every day is infectious. Their dedication to helping disability-owned business enterprises grow and succeed makes such a difference. You get out of it what you put in.
KC: Thank you, James and hello Jackson, Disability:IN is so happy to have you as a mentor, I have some questions for you as well.
KC: Cargill is so diverse and has so many iconic brands used across the globe. Please tell us more about the company so we can support those brands that support us!
JK: DEI has always been important to Cargill. The company knows the work is never done, and the commitment continues to get stronger and aspires to do more and reach higher ground.
To turn that commitment into action, Cargill is taking a more holistic approach to how we measure our DEI progress. The company recognizes that true impact includes not only representation but also access and equity to drive a meaningful impact for all. By evolving company´s perspective, the aim is to foster a culture of inclusion where every individual feels welcome, valued and heard including our suppliers.
KC: Why did you decide to participate in the mentoring process, especially with so many other mentoring program options out there, with Disability:IN?
JK: I’ve been involved in mentoring programs for the last 6 years. These are some reasons behind my why:
- I came from a family without many resources – living in a small city in a Third World country isn’t a good start, so I always had to fight to get something in life. When I started my career journey, I had a clear objective to one day start working for a multinational company, do an excellent job and be a manager and perhaps live abroad. During the initial steps I struggled a lot because I couldn´t find anyone to help me with simple career questions. With that I’ve made several mistakes, it took more time but I’ve promised myself that I would make it. And when I did, I would be a better person and support those with doubts especially in their early career.
- At the end of the day I want to make sure that people remember my kindness and all the support given to people rather than having several swanky market titles but no impact on society. It is something that takes very little of my time but it can make a lot of difference for others.
In terms of why Disability:IN
- I saw that Cargill had the partnership and with that I did some investigating to understand more about it. I liked the working model, mission and vision. With that I appointed myself to support a mentee and glad that they selected me.
KC: Can you speak about how the mentoring process has been with James at Revolution Trucking?
JK: The mentoring process with James turned out to be different from all the other mentoring programs that I’ve had. At the end our sessions it became a combination of mentoring with knowledge brainstorming, network sharing and at the same time developing some level of friendship as well!
KC: Have you had mentors in your career and how has that helped you build your passion to give back and mentor others and position them for success?
JK: Absolutely. I already had the pleasure to be a mentor of several people. Difficult to count as the number can easily go above one hundred (and at the end the number isn´t import, but the satisfaction and impact is). But it´s definitely a pleasure to see my mission being accomplished with mentees in their early career days, which really triggered me to become a mentor. When I am able to support them and make sure that they can have a smoother career path with proper guidance, I remember myself in the past and feel so happy to know that they won’t struggle too much as I unnecessarily had to.
KC: How does your supplier diversity program work from a global perspective? You are dozens of countries, so how can our global DOBEs participate in other regions outside the US?
JK: The supplier diversity program is present in all regions but with a strong footprint in US. However, at the moment there is a transformation program ongoing where we might need to wait until May – June 2025 in order to determine the new model.
KC: We know being a mentor and not just the mentee learn during the mentoring process, what have you come away with during this experience with James?
JK: James is a great person – humble, friendly, smart and with a strong entrepreneurship spirit. For me the sessions were quite pleasurable. It was a terrific experience as he is also mentoring me in terms of managing my own business, the truck business, coffee business. During our mentoring journey we found out so many coincidences and related common topics where we able to support each other.
KC: What are some of the key focus areas/tips you feel are important to any mentor that you would like to share with others for professional growth and success?
JK: Make sure to have clear objectives about why you are mentoring. At least in my case I feel the desire coming from my heart as this is a passion and not an obligation. You need to feel pleasure seeing others succeed with your support. If this is a fuel to your motivation, and you know that you have a knowledge to share, you should become a mentor to the DOBEs.
KC: Any other thoughts to add for us today about Disability:IN?
JK: Just would like to say thanks for the chance to join the mentoring program. As mentioned before, it is different from all programs that I’ve ever had and building the network with James is priceless. This is something that will be beneficial for both of us for a long time!
KC: Thank you Cargill for supporting DOBEs and Jackson for all you do!
KC: I wish you both continued success throughout the rest of the program.
