Coordinated leadership investment positions the 48-year-old Defiance, Ohio 3PL for accelerated national expansion
DEFIANCE, Ohio, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Keller Logistics Group (KLG), a Defiance, Ohio-based asset-based third-party logistics (3PL) provider founded in 1978, today announced three new senior commercial leadership additions across its operating affiliates; the latest moves in a multi-year talent build designed to power the company’s next era of national growth.
Mike Whitlock joins Keller Warehousing & Co-Packing as Director of Business Development. Steve Staley joins Keller Industrial Properties as Director of Business Development. Katie Furnish joins Keller Trucking as Regional Dedicated Sales Manager. The three additions complete a leadership build that began over a year ago with the strategic appointment of Lars Cleland as President of Keller Freight Solutions; a 27-year C.H. Robinson veteran whose July 2025 hire set the template for the senior-level commercial talent KLG is now attracting at every operating affiliate.
Collectively, the four leaders bring more than 75 years of senior commercial experience from C.H. Robinson, Schneider National, DHL Worldwide, PGL, John S. Connor, and Design Collaborative.
“We are stacking the bench for the next decade,” said Bryan Keller, President & CEO of Keller Logistics Group. “Lars Cleland’s appointment last year signaled where we were headed. Mike, Steve, Katie, and others, are how we get there. The companies that will win in this industry, over the next ten years, are the ones that build deep, durable talent in every seat, not just at the top. We are putting elite commercial talent into every Keller affiliate because the opportunity in front of this company is that big.”
The hires come as KLG accelerates a multi-front growth agenda: a nationwide warehousing footprint expanding into new states including recent customer-driven agreements in Maine and Connecticut; an enhanced multimodal focus at Keller Freight Solutions spanning intermodal, drayage, expedite, flatbed, reefer, and LTL; continued growth in dedicated and private fleet conversions at Keller Trucking; and a fast-emerging industrial real estate platform that pairs facilities and supply chain solutions in a way few competitors can match.
“Enterprise shippers are consolidating their supply chains around fewer, stronger partners – partners who can deliver across brokerage, dedicated, warehousing, co-packing, and real estate without losing personal accountability,” Keller continued. “That is exactly the company we have spent 48 years building, and exactly the moment we have been preparing for. We are going to grow this business in ways that will reshape what a Northwest Ohio 3PL can become on the national stage.”
KLG’s growth strategy is anchored in the company’s purpose-driven mission: to enrich as many lives as possible by Delivering for its People, Customers, and Community, and its core values of being responsive, resourceful, and reliable, which have defined the organization since founder Tom Keller started delivering watermelons in Vincennes, Indiana.
“The bench is deeper today than it has ever been,” Keller added. “We are building this company to be the industry’s leader in service and safety- and we are not done.”
About Keller Logistics Group
Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Defiance, Ohio, Keller Logistics Group (KLG) is a full-service, asset-based 3PL provider. Keller delivers trucking, warehousing, co-packing, freight brokerage, and industrial real estate solutions to manufacturers and retailers nationwide through its family of operating affiliates. Learn more at kellerlogistics.com.
Media Contact
Keller Logistics Group
Christine Moen
Christine.moen@kellerlogistics.com
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SOURCE Keller Logistics Group, Inc.
