“Angels was a perfect fit,” Gartland told TT. “If we don’t fit, we don’t do [deals].” (Montway Auto Transport)
Montway Auto Transport CEO Tom Gartland retired once — for all of six weeks.
The better part of a decade later, the veteran transportation executive told Transport Topics: “I’m going 100 mph and love it.”
Probably a good thing, too. Montway bought an auto haulage brokerage for high-end sports cars in May.
Montway added Angels Moving Autos, a Florida-based luxury automotive transport brokerage, to its portfolio for an undisclosed sum.
Angels provides a “white glove” approach for enclosed and open vehicle shipping, with a particular focus on high-end sports cars, luxury vehicles, exotic and collector cars.
“It’s rare to find a company so deeply committed to service excellence, a trait we value at Montway,” said Gartland.
“Angels was a perfect fit,” Gartland told TT. “If we don’t fit, we don’t do [deals].”
“It took time to do the deal, until Dina was ready,” he said, referring to Angels owner Dina Gifford.
“My focus for Angels Moving Autos has always been on treating each customer and their vehicle with the utmost care and respect,” said Gifford. “Whether it’s a family car or a high-value investment like a Lamborghini, Porsche or Ferrari, I appreciate the trust our customers place in us.”
Such a culture is paramount to Gartland, he said.
A pivotal scene in the 2000 movie “The Replacements” sees Gene Hackman’s character, Jimmy McGinty, tell a reporter: “Heart. You gotta have heart. Miles and miles of heart.”
It is a sentiment former Avis Budget Group executive Gartland might find himself agreeing with.
Over a period of about three years, Gartland wrote a book about his experiences at Avis and earlier in his career titled “Lead with Heart: Transform your Business through Personal Connection.”
It was a lesson he implemented at Avis, at Scan Global Logistics and again at Montway.
At Avis, Gartland said, it was about turning the 22,000-strong team around and creating an empowered workforce.
Gartland said treating people the right way is key.
Automotive haulage broker Montway operates a retail consumer transportation unit, a business-to-business division and a technology division.
The company has served more than 1 million customers and quintupled its consumer volume since Gartland took the helm in 2020.
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“That is literally fun. We’ve created a multifaceted strategy. We’ve hired wonderful people,” he said. “I love it and don’t plan on stopping.”
So, at a time when most executives are winding down and readying for retirement, Gartland is still making deals and building a business.
The reward, he said, is spending time with his four children and seven grandchildren.
“Everything I do is for my family,” Gartland told TT from his Wisconsin lake house.
Part of that is because Gartland lost his father and brother at a young age.
“That experience hit me in a way that my responsibility is to my wife and then to my kids and grandkids,” he said.
Montway is an absolute gem, he said, adding that when he became CEO, he realized the company had the foundations for the best consumer auto transport business in the U.S.
Gartland expects to guide Montway for the next five to 10 years, even if he is not the CEO.
