OUR TEAM
Ed Hart
President
Ed Hart was born in Indianapolis and has always made the city his home. He graduated from Ball State University in northeast Indiana with a degree in business administration and finance.
In 1979, he bought Safeway Logistics. At the time, it was a small company that had been started in 1969. Safeway joined United Van Lines, now UniGroup, in 1982. Over the years, Safeway has earned dozens of awards from UniGroup for hauling and special commodities logistics.
Safeway has many dedicated and loyal employees, many of whom have been with us for over 30 years. The experience and wisdom of these employees have helped us become a very successful company.
Hart has been married to his wife, Denise, for 39 years. They have two daughters, two sons-in-law and five grandchildren.
Integrity is very important to Hart and he applies it to every area of Safeway Logistics. In the past 40+ years, Safeway Logistics has grown to be a strong and thriving company.
John Starks
Senior Vice President, Business Development
He attended the University of Kansas and the University of Nebraska at Omaha before starting his career with Werner Enterprises, Inc in Omaha, Nebraska in 1995. He held multiple positions at Werner, the last of which was Senior Director of Operations during which he was responsible for operations for the Van, Team, and Regional divisions consisting of over 2,000 trucks. He was involved in planning, management and policy development for all of Werner’s Operations division.
Starks left Werner in 2005 and became the Vice President of Dedicated & Customer Service in Greensboro, North Carolina where he led his team to grow revenues 54% in one year while greatly improving the Dedicated division operating ratio. In 2007, Starks became the Vice President Operations for Hoosier Tradewinds in Arcadia, Indiana before moving on to New Breed Logistics in Greensboro, North Carolina in 2008. During his years at New Breed as Program Manager, he had full responsibility for all facets of program management and new client onboarding for the entire transportation business development group. He also managed the modeling and analysis teams, new client relationships and TMS implementations in both the US and Canada.
Starks then joined UniGroup Logistics in December of 2012. His proven capabilities in generating growth opportunities in logistics made him the perfect choice for the newly created position of Senior Director, Logistics. In September of 2014, Starks became Senior Vice President of Business Development for one of UniGroup’s premier logistics Agents, Safeway Moving System. Starks has been instrumental in developing and launching Safeway’s new logistics brand. Over his tenure, Safeway Logistics has grown exponentially in both top line and bottom line revenues.
Blake Andrews
Vice President of Operations
Blake Andrews earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business with a finance concentration from small, private, Christian school Taylor University just an hour north of Indianapolis.
Blake started at Safeway Logistics in 2001 in the truck maintenance shop. He began learning about many facets of our business over the years. He has been instrumental in maintaining our standing as an award winner in hauling and safety in Over the Road trucking; awards we’ve received from UniGroup for hauling special products, logistics, and trade show business lines annually for more than thirty years.
As Vice President of Operations, Blake is dedicated to providing our customers, drivers, and coworkers with a positive experience. Blake believes Safeway Logistics’ drivers are our most important asset and spends a great deal of time talking with them to ensure that they have well-maintained equipment to keep everyone safe on the road, and addressing each individual’s particular needs to ensure that our business, and our family of safe drivers, continues to grow.
Blake says he is honored to work with Safeway Logistics, a company that continues to expand while remaining committed to a path of honesty and integrity. The Andrews family of four resides near Indianapolis and looks forward to many more years of growth with the Safeway Logistics.
Kathy Cooper
Chief Financial Officer
Kathy graduated from Indiana University - Bloomington in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.
After graduation, she moved to Indianapolis to work for a KPMG Peat Marwick. She then spent six years as the Controller of a family owned construction company specializing in Underground tunneling. In 1996, she joined EventPro, an event marketing firm specializing in Mobile Display Tours as the Chief Financial Officer, where she worked for 21 years.
Kathy joined Safeway Moving System in April 2017. She is pleased to be part of a business known for quality service and strong integrity.
Kathy is an active member at Traders Point Christian Church and has two wonderful children.
TJ Pniak
Director of Logistics
T.J. graduated from Michigan State University-East Lansing in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Supply Chain Management.
T.J. brings to Safeway Logistics a wealth of experience from multiple organizations in the 3PL arena including industry leading organizations such as C.H. Robinson, Nexus Distribution, and AFS. He also spent time during his career at large shippers including Unilever, OfficeMax, and Osram Sylvania. His experience working in both the 3PL and the shipper environments brings a valuable perspective on creating synergies between 3PLs, carriers and shippers.
Pniak joined Safeway Logistics in January 2018. He brings over fifteen years of industry experience with expertise in supply chain management, problem solving, tariffs, pricing, data analysis, network optimization and transportation management systems. TJ has quickly become part of the Safeway family and will play a key role in helping to lead strategies that position Safeway for continued success.
T.J. is married to his wife Casey. They have three children. In his free time T.J. enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, and cooking.
