Craig Schneider Remembered for Mentorship and Leadership in Third Party Logistics

Craig Schneider’s mark on third party logistics is remembered through the people he coached, the chances he gave them and the teams he led across the intermountain west. A Celebration of Life service is being held today in Las Vegas for Schneider, who was 74 and had retired only recently. For former colleagues, his influence reached well beyond the work itself.

Dan, who is also retired, spent 10 years working for Schneider, beginning in 1993. At the time, Dan was with Ryder Dedicated Logistics in Wisconsin and transferred to Salt Lake City, where Schneider was a senior logistics manager. That assignment became the start of a long connection: Dan credits Schneider with helping shape the 25 years he spent living and working in Utah.

A career built around people and ideas

The Ryder Systems division provided third party logistics services and employed more than 10,000 drivers serving companies across the United States. In Salt Lake City, one of its major customers was, and remains, one of the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottlers. Schneider rose quickly to director at Ryder, leading a team whose work covered the intermountain west.

Dan recalls a manager who was constantly proposing new approaches to customers, colleagues and employees. Some ideas initially sounded far outside the usual way of doing things, he writes, but a senior customer manager told him they often proved brilliant. Schneider’s colleagues used nicknames such as “Tasmanian devil” and “bull in a China shop” to describe that restless, forceful style.

The labels point to the energy of his approach, but colleagues also emphasize what it produced: a strong team and results they were proud of. Schneider expected people to work hard, offered them room to take on responsibility and stepped in when they needed direction. Dan says Schneider taught him about business and was willing to rein him in when necessary. The lessons, he says, stayed with him.

That combination of challenge and support recurs in former employees’ recollections. One described Schneider as a boss who stood up for them when others tried to undermine them, crediting him with lessons in life and management. Another said he believed in his people and brought out their best, adding that 15 years working with him shaped their own approach to work. Others recalled the opportunities he created, including one colleague who said Schneider’s willingness to take a chance helped lead to a chief operating officer role.

Leadership remembered in practical terms

Former colleagues describe Schneider’s impact through specific moments as well as broad praise. One remembers receiving a first-place truck rodeo trophy from him and still has a photograph of the two together. Another called him his own “logistics engineer,” saying he could keep the numbers in his head. That colleague also remembered an “all for one and one for all” approach to leading the team, which delivered impressive results over a long stretch.

Other comments are brief, but point to the depth of affection around him: “one hell of a boss,” “one of a kind” and “a good man.” One former employee recalled Schneider’s stories about different start-ups as a source of laughter. These memories bring the working relationship into focus: the planning and performance mattered, but so did the daily exchanges, the encouragement and the personality people encountered on the job.

For Dan, the relationship extended across several locations and phases of his career. He describes traveling with Schneider’s work from a start-up in Hawaii to Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, Seattle and other parts of the intermountain west. Dan, a Wisconsin native who calls himself a “cheesehead,” says it was a fascinating ride. He later wrote about many of their experiences in his 2020 book, My Truck Driving Life.

The tribute also reflects how a logistics manager’s influence can travel through a workforce. People remember who gave them a first opportunity, backed them when they faced difficulty or pushed them to grow. For Schneider’s former employees, those actions became part of their own professional histories, and some say they shaped the roles they later held.

Dan cannot attend the Las Vegas service, but says Schneider remains present in his dreams and memories. He calls him “The Boss,” a title that carries both respect for Schneider’s position and the personal regard built over years of working together. His closing thought is that the ride continues, even as people hold on to what they learned and the people who helped them along the way.

Former colleagues’ recollections and service details are available through the Craig Thomas Schneider obituary.