Don Daseke, president and CEO of Daseke, Inc., will present “Why Keep Learning?” in Austin College’s annual Williams Executive-in-Residence Lecture and Luncheon Thursday, October 30, at 11 a.m. in Mabee Hall of Wright Campus Center.
Mr. Daseke received the 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year Southwest Region Award from Ernst & Young. This prestigious business award honors entrepreneurs who inspire others with their vision, leadership, and achievements. Daseke was among a variety of leaders in the southwest honored for their work in building and leading successful, growing, and dynamic businesses, according to Ernst & Young. “It’s not just me,” Daseke said upon receiving the award. “We’ve had great success thus far—growing from $30 million in revenue in 2009 to a projected $550 million in 2014 and placing on the 2014 Transport Topics Top 100 largest carriers-for-hire list, No. 2 in open-deck and No. 59 overall. Our success and this recognition come as a direct result of the hard work of our dedicated employees and a focused management team. There are very few companies that have experienced that kind of growth in such a short amount of time. I am so proud of our accomplishment.”
Daseke, Inc., based in Addison, Texas, is the parent company for the flatbed and specialized carriers Smokey Point Distributing Inc., E. W. Wylie Corporation, J. Grady Randolph, Inc., Central Oregon Truck, WTI Transport, Boyd Bros Transportation, and Lone Star Transportation. Daseke, Inc., services 49 states, Canada, and Mexico with a diverse line of specialty long haul freight and open-deck/specialty services. Together the Daseke companies comprise the second largest open-deck specialty carrier in North America. Learn more about the entrepreneur award and Daseke, Inc.
Mr. Daseke also has a long history of community and non-profit leadership, including past service as president and chairman of WaterTower Theatre; trustee of DePauw University; past chairman of the Dallas Chapter of the World Presidents Organization. He also is a member of the Chief Executives Organization. He serves on the advisory council for the Cattle Barons Ball in Dallas, the largest fundraiser in the United States for the American Cancer Society and has served on the executive committee for the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society. He was a founding director of the Center for Management & Entrepreneurship at DePauw University.
Daseke was a commissioner on the Planning and Zoning Commission for the Town of Addison, Texas, from 2005 to 2009, was elected to a two-year term on the Addison Town Council in May 2009, and served as Mayor Pro-Tempore in 2010.
A graduate of DePauw University, Daseke earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and graduated from the Presidents Program in Leadership at Harvard Business School. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
The Williams Executive-in-Residence Lecture was established in 2007 by Austin College alumnus Todd Williams, Class of 1982.
Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives.