• TPM23
  • February 26 – March 1, 2023 | Long Beach Convention Center
  • Register Now

William (Bill) Shea

Direct ChassisLink Inc. (DCLI)

CEO

William (Bill) J. Shea, Jr. has been the CEO of Direct ChassisLink Inc. and an investor in the company since 2012. In that capacity, Shea has shaped the strategic vision of DCLI and facilitated the acquisition of major legacy chassis fleets while maintaining oversight of the company's growth and financial performance. Mr. Shea’s remarkable career in the transportation industry spans almost 40 years. Shea co-founded Kelley Transportation Services in 1984 and Bay Cities Leasing in 1989, managed the first domestic container and chassis pool, called EMP, for Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern in 1994, oversaw the creation of DCLI in 2010 and was the thought leader behind the 2015 creation of the Pool of Pools, the grey daily-use chassis pool that operates in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. He serves on the board of directors of DCLI and is chairman of the Blume Global board.

Sessions With William (Bill) Shea

Tuesday, 28 February

  • 01:30pm - 02:00pm (PST) / 28/feb/2023 09:30 pm - 28/feb/2023 10:00 pm

    TPM23 CEO Series: A Conversation With DCLI CEO Bill Shea

    One would be challenged to identify a US transportation executive with a longer, more successful track record than Bill Shea, the CEO of DCLI, the largest provider of chassis to the US transportation market. A decades-long streak of deal-making and business building has left Bill in a position to offer unique perspective on the current environment and where the industry is headed. He was the key driver behind the carve-out of DCLI from Maersk in 2012, thereby playing a key role in facilitating the mass exit of ocean carriers from the chassis business. DCLI owns approximately 285,000 chassis and expanded into the domestic chassis market in 2018 with the acquisition of TRAC Intermodal’s fleet of approximately 72,000 53-foot domestic chassis. Bill was also the thought leader behind the 2015 creation of the Pool of Pools, the gray daily-use chassis pool that operates at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. He also led DCLI’s acquisitions of REZ-1 and IAS and their further development into Blume Global, a leading technology company providing asset management and logistics software services to railroads, ocean carriers, logistics companies, motor carriers, and BCOs. In this conversation with Peter Tirschwell, Bill will offer his thoughts about where the industry is headed in terms of railroads, intermodal, chassis, ocean carriers, ports, and technology.