A.W. Ahern ("Andy") is Chief Executive Officer and founder of Ahern & Associates, LTD. He received a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and Business Education from Southern Illinois University and is an accredited member of the National Bureau of Certified Consultants and the Institute of Management Consultants. He also holds the dignified appellation of CPCM and CMC.

As a respected author, Mr. Ahern publishes a nationally recognized transportation newsletter that currently has approximately 225,000 weekly subscribers and features articles covering a wide range of topics including:

Mr. Ahern has written numerous articles for the Transpor¬tation Industry, including the Arkansas Trucking Association and has been noted as an expert source in The Memphis Business Journal and Reuters.com. Most recently, Mr. Ahern was profiled by American Executive which recognized him and his firm as one of the most progressive consulting companies in the country.

Mr. Ahern is active in creating groundbreaking technologies in transportation including pioneering new software development in conjunction with Analytical Management Techniques' transportation software programs for the trucking industry which are designed specifically for small to medium size trucking companies. The program tracks each dispatch and truck, telling the owner instantly, based upon his/her own operating cost, whether a profit is being made on each individual dispatched load. In addition to pioneering software programs, he has also spearheaded numerous agent programs for some of the larger trucking companies in the United States and Canada.

Mr. Ahern shares his knowledge by making speaking appearances around the country including on CNN TelevisionandKTAR Radio. He was also a reoccurring speaker for a special all ethics program at Pepperdine University that gained recognition from 60 Minutes, Business Week, The Los Angeles Times and The Las Vegas Review. In addition to speaking engagements to share his expertise, he has also authored a book for the transportation industry entitled, "The Insurance Crisis, Fact or Fiction?"

Throughout his career, Mr. Ahern has been recognized for his achievements through various distinguished awards including Businessman of the Year Award in 2002, National Leadership Award presented by President George W. BushandThe Ronald Regan Award. Most recently, Mr. Ahern was profiled by American Executive for his accomplishments.

In addition to his awards, Mr. Ahern has also received quite a few honors. He was recognized in the 1997-1998 American Directory Edition of Who's Who in Executives and Businesses. He also received national recognition in the form of testimonial letters for successfully rehabilitating and orchestrating expansion efforts from some for the most recognized transportation companies in the United States and Canada including Dependable Highway Express (DHE), Christenson Transportation, C.R. England and CRST International, just to name a few. As a philanthropist, Mr. Ahern has been nationally recognized by The St. Mary's Food Bank as a partner in hunger for rising in excess of $1MM of food throughout the United States.

Mr. Ahern is quite involved in his field of expertise.In 2010, he sponsored a trucking and logistics merger and acquisition seminar with the Benesch Law Firm which drew attendees from all corners of the country. Mr. Ahern was the Chairman of the unsecured creditors committee for one of the largest trucking bankruptcies in the United States-Internet, Inc

Currently, he produces a weekly video podcast that is broadcast over the internet and viewed by a large, committed following. Recently, he launched a new trucking company crisis hotline that is free of charge for small to medium trucking companies and developed a merger and acquisition board. He is visible in various social media outlets including posting open acquisition needs on his blog and interacting with colleagues on Twitter. Mr. Ahern is also involved in many industry associations including the Arkansas Trucking Association, Alabama Motor Carriers Association, California Trucking Association and Nebraska Trucking Association.

Andy is also a convicted felon, and spent fifteen months in a federal prison in Las Vegas, Nevada. He speaks frequently to corporations about operating in the "gray zone" and he vulnerability that entrepreneurs have if they become a target of the Federal Government. His lectures provide a stark reality to the complexity of today's business and the ease in which values can be compromised. He is a much sought after speaker and lecturer, and believes that his incarnation period was a valuable learning experience and tool for his business expertise.

While Ahern & Associates, Ltd. was founded back in 1987, it continues to be one of the most professional and progressive transportation consulting companies in the United States. During this time, he has sold in excess of 320+ trucking and logistics companies throughout his business career. Mr. Ahern attributes the company's success and growth to one absolute philosophy; "caring".