Con-way Inc. has launched the Con-way Leadership Academy - a corporate initiative designed to provide education and training across a wide spectrum of functional and leadership roles, spanning operations, sales and management.

The program has an extensive curriculum designed to develop and improve job skills and leadership abilities at every level within the organization, and across all of the company's freight transportation and logistics business units. The academy is an integral part of Con-way's extensive, continuous investment in employee training and education, which starts at the driver and field sales levels, and extends through front-line supervisory to senior management ranks.
Douglas W. Stotlar, president and CEO of Con-way Inc., said, "The Con-way Leadership Academy is the next stage of our investment in our most valuable asset - our people. We want to ensure that they are not only able to meet the challenges of their current positions, but are always preparing to take the next step. With their success, Con-way will continue to grow and remain a formidable competitor in this industry."
The Con-way Leadership Academy has four layers of skills development emphasis: position fundamentals, leadership fundamentals, strategic leadership/advanced leadership preparation for highest achievement (ALPHA), and executive education. Each layer targets employees at specific stages of their careers.
For position fundamentals, each business unit creates and facilitates classes, activities and experiences to help employees build a strong foundation of job-related knowledge. The next layer, leadership fundamentals, is tailored to provide front-line and middle managers with the tools and techniques to become effective leaders. Selected employees complete four, three-day courses - one every six months. Leadership fundamentals courses are held at five U.S. locations, including Portland, Ore.; Buena Park, Calif.; Aurora, Ill.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Dallas/Fort Worth; and internationally at company sites in Amsterdam, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. In 2007, 950 employees will have completed the first course within the leadership fundamentals curriculum.
Con-way recently selected its first enterprise-wide class of ALPHA candidates for advanced leadership preparation. ALPHA is a three-year curriculum designed to ensure that the future leaders of Con-way are prepared to take on the highest level of responsibility when the opportunity arises. Participants in ALPHA are nominated by their business units and selected from throughout the enterprise by the CEO and his executive committee. Finally, corporate executives participate in the executive education curriculum - the pinnacle of the Con-way Leadership Academy program - attending workshops, symposiums, and other modules specifically designed for their level of expertise.
"At Con-way, professional development doesn't stop once you reach the height of your career," noted Stotlar. "In fact, we believe our top-level executives have more responsibility than anyone to improve, grow and develop their leadership abilities. The Con-way Leadership Academy enables them to do just that."
Con-way Inc. is a $4.2 billion freight transportation and logistics services company headquartered in San Mateo, Calif. Named FORTUNE magazine's "Most Admired Company" in transportation and logistics for 2007, Con-way delivers services through three primary operating companies: Con-way Freight, Con-way Truckload Services and Menlo Worldwide. These operating units provide high-performance, day-definite less-than-truckload (LTL) and full truckload and intermodal freight transportation, as well as logistics, warehousing and supply chain management services, and trailer manufacturing. Con-way Inc. and its subsidiaries operate from more than 500 locations across North America and in 20 countries. For more information about Con-way, visit www.con-way.com.