Taking the road less traveled

Lori Kaye Lodes

Contributor

September 21, 2026

GREEN BAY – The instruments are gone, but Kayla Stocco is still conducting.

Before transportation became her second career, Stocco said she was an educator and band director, at times standing before hundreds of students and their instruments with the responsibility of bringing individual musicians together around a larger vision.

Now, she said she’s nearly a decade into a career at Schneider, where she’s currently vice president of sales.

At the Green Bay-based transportation and logistics company, Stocco said although the musicians of her past have been replaced by teams spanning sales, pricing, operations, regulatory, safety and other disciplines, significant parallels persist.

“Obviously, [going from] teaching to transportation, I get a lot of questions of ‘how did you do that?’” she said. “[Educating hundreds of students] translates into, ‘I’m on this team, and we need to connect with pricing, operations, regulatory, safety and all those things, and everybody on these teams has an individual job and role they’re playing.’” 

The art of “syncing up,” Stocco said, remains central to her present role. 

“That connection, to me, is what feeds my soul these days, and helps me feel the same connection to making music,” she said.

Now, what could be considered an unconventional career path has led to industry recognition, as Stocco was named a recipient of the 2026 Women in Supply Chain Forum Award in August.

The honor – presented by magazines “Food Logistics” and “Supply & Demand Chain Executive” – recognizes female supply-chain leaders whose accomplishments, mentorship and leadership are helping shape the industry’s future.

“It’s been an honor to get the individual recognition, and it’s a recognition of the teams I am a part of and an organization that invests in people and development,” Stocco said.

That investment in people, she said, has been a recurring theme in her own Schneider experience – first as someone given opportunities to learn unfamiliar areas of the transportation business, and increasingly as a leader responsible for creating those opportunities for others. 

Stocco said due to Schneider’s approach to workforce development, women represent 38% of the company’s non-driver associates, 37% of its leadership and more than 11% of its company drivers.

For Stocco, though, she said developing a strong workforce isn’t simply about numbers or titles – rather, it’s about recognizing what different people and perspectives can contribute; giving associates opportunities to grow; and building teams capable of solving increasingly complex customer challenges.

“At the root of it,” Stocco said, “transportation is still a people business.”

A nontraditional path

Stocco said by no means did she leave education with a vice president title – or even transportation – mapped out as her destination. 

She joined Schneider in 2017 as a customer service manager, she said, initially working with some of the company’s largest customer groups. 

After later moving into operations, Stocco said she relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, and took on field roles that allowed her to interact with drivers daily. 

From there, she said, she transitioned to the commercial side as a seller and eventually into sales leadership.

Today, Stocco said she leads approximately one-third of Schneider’s Dedicated sales organization.

Though her past “hasn’t been traditional,” she said she finds herself “striving to be fearless with every role I go for.”

By moving through different areas and departments, Stocco said she gained something a straighter climb might not have yielded: perspective.

She said she learned the customer side of the business, then the day-to-day realities of operations and working with drivers. 

Commercial roles, Stocco said, provided another vantage point, as each move added another layer of understanding of the company and, more broadly, the transportation industry. 

In addition, she said she credits mentors within Schneider, the industry and the community, who encouraged her to step outside her comfort zone and learn parts of the business that could make her a stronger leader later. 

One of those mentors, Stocco said, was her first leader at Schneider, who has since retired.

Some of the advice she received from that mentor, she said, she continues to share with her own mentees: “Consider the opportunity that scares you.”

“[My mentor] stretched me to think of going for a role that scares me,” she said. “It was a launching point for me to get into operations. I thought, ‘I don’t have my CDL – and how would I lead the execution of my business?’ But I jumped off the cliff and was empowered, and [that phrase] is now something I repeat to my mentees.”

Of the other key takeaways she gleaned, Stocco said she learned how many of Schneider’s leaders’ journeys are unique – that they were not all rooted in a straight trajectory through one area.

“At Schneider, it’s not a ladder; it’s a lattice [that allows you] to gain perspective, and it’s a great reminder not to follow the same path as someone else,” she said.

Empowering people to stretch

Stocco said she imbues her leadership with a philosophy: Make sure every person in her ecosystem feels empowered and confident to do their job. 

“I take pride in making sure my team knows I have their back and that they feel empowered to take risks,” she said.

Stocco said she provides several avenues for that development, including mentorship with senior leaders and opportunities to learn from people in different departments.

She said Schneider itself supports development, connection and understanding by way of its Business Resource Groups (BRGs).

Per schneiderjobs.com, these BRGs include the Schneider Women’s Network, Latinx Connect, BOLD, the LGBTQIA+ Alliance, Young Professionals Network and GREEN.

Further development, Stocco said, is offered via the company’s Accelerated Development Program for early-career leadership growth; a LEAD Program for frontline associates interested in leadership; a LEAD Driver Program focused on driver development and career pathways; a Mechanic High Potential Program for technical and leadership advancement; and mentorship programs pairing associates with senior leaders.

She said bringing different perspectives into the business is not separate from Schneider’s ability to perform – rather, it is intertwined.

“Organizations that invest in diverse perspectives will be here for the long haul,” she said, “and I’m fortunate to have many different women and male mentors.”

Schneider’s efforts to create opportunities for women, she said, extend to its driver workforce through the Schneider Women’s Network, mixed-gender training initiatives and scholarships for women pursuing technical careers.

Stocco said this has led to the company being recognized for six consecutive years as a Top Company for Women to Work in Transportation, including placement on the Elite 30 in 2025.

During her time with Schneider, she said she’s seen leadership diversity evolve within the company and across the industry, amid a culture that celebrates and upholds individuals’ success.

“Our culture celebrates emerging leaders and provides opportunities to anyone on a leadership path,” she said. “The investment our company makes is key to me, and a driving force to pay it forward to the next group of emerging leaders.”

Building teams for a complex business

Offering such personal development, Stocco said, is practical in a business sense.

She said transportation can look deceptively simple from outside the industry: something is picked up at Point A and delivered to Point B. 

“In reality, there are a lot of complexities, and that’s why it’s ‘transportation and logistics,’” she said. “Every customer’s distribution is unique, their commodity is unique and every solution has a team of experts to deliver on their expectations. [Our focus is on] what matters to them and how we match what we do to solve the customer’s needs.”

Stocco said this complexity is particularly evident in the Dedicated business she helps lead.

Schneider provides contracted transportation capacity, she said, which is tailored to an individual customer’s operation, providing many benefits of a private fleet while managing responsibilities including drivers, equipment and operational execution.

Stocco said refrigerated transportation adds another layer of complexity.

She said she played a role in expanding Schneider’s refrigerated transportation business, and in 2025, the company grew its footprint in that area with new and existing customers.

From lettuce to automotive products to electronics, Stocco said customer needs vary depending on each commodity. 

Some products require refrigeration, she said, while others need temperature control to prevent freezing, as geography and weather create still more variables.

“There are a lot of complexities,” she said, “and building the team that’s right for the customer [is one] of the greatest accomplishments. When the customer is winning, we’re winning.”

Technology is accelerating change within transportation, but Stocco said innovation must ultimately serve a business purpose, whether creating efficiencies, cost savings or another meaningful customer benefit.

The stimulating pace, she said, is part of what has kept her interested nearly a decade after entering an industry she once knew little about.

“No day is the same, and I have learned something every single day for darn near 10 years, and that is exciting,” she said.

Paying it forward

For young women considering transportation, logistics or supply-chain careers, Stocco said she advises based on her own experience: Don’t assume the route needs to be linear.

“It’s about staying curious, and… allowing yourself to go down the nontraditional path,” she said. “Lean into that…, as it will create a well-rounded experience in transportation.”

Stocco said she doesn’t have her next title mapped out either. 

Her immediate business priority, she said, is continuing to grow Dedicated, while also continuing to develop as a leader and remain open to whatever opportunity might emerge next.

Perhaps the clearest indication of what that leadership looks like, Stocco said, came not from an industry award but from a member of her team, who called her their “compass.”

“That means a lot to me, because I [strive] to guide their decisions and to think critically of the full picture,” she said.