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John Ruan III, chairman emeritus of Ruan Transportation, died Sept. 11 after a long illness. He was 78.

For nearly six decades, Ruan, of Des Moines, Iowa, led the company founded by his father.

As part of the family’s succession plan, John Ruan IV became chairman of the Ruan companies in August.

“Under his dedicated leadership, Ruan has grown to become one of the largest privately owned transportation and logistics companies in the nation,” a company statement said. “He oversaw the expansion of our service offerings during his tenure to include dedicated contract transportation, managed transportation, value-added warehousing and brokerage support services, allowing us to provide complete integrated supply chain solutions to our customers.”

Ruan

CEO Ben McLean said, “John was proud of the role our companies play in supporting our communities and thousands of employee families, just as they supported his own family since 1932. We will continue to celebrate and build on his visionary legacy as we reflect on the positive impact that he had on all of us.

“His view, having been in the business for probably 60 years, was seeking to make decisions on a long-term perspective, and thinking about what’s right and wrong, us and our customers, and the relationships we have with them.”

McLean said that Ruan was not a leader who accepted complacency. He pushed to eliminate waste.

“Sometimes he seemed quite demanding, and I wasn’t sure we could deliver or achieve what he believed capable in our business,” McLean told Transport Topics. “But I think he was able to really successfully and effectively do this because he had seen so much of our industry and a significant amount of change.”

Although he was extremely community-minded, Ruan didn’t seek the limelight, according to McLean.

“He would be focused on creating solutions, working with our leadership and our customers to deliver the very best solutions,” McLean said. “But it wasn’t important for him to be the center of the show.”

McLean added, “He grew up in this family business. He loved his family. He loved his family business. I sure saw my father-in-law run this company that was more than just about business. It was more than simply showing up, working a shift and going home.”

The company said that throughout his life, Ruan championed each of the firm’s guiding principles of “people first, safety focus, exceptional performance, customer satisfaction and continuous improvement.”

In addition to leading Ruan Transportation Management Systems, Ruan provided oversight to the Ruan family of companies, including Bankers Trust, the World Food Prize, Concentric International, City Center Corp., the John Ruan Foundation Trust, Ruan Center Corp. and Ruan Inc., the company said.

Bankers Trust CEO and President Don Coffin, said few people have had more influence on the central Iowa community than Ruan.

“While he didn’t enjoy the limelight, Ruan quietly demonstrated significant business and philanthropic leadership to make our community more forward-thinking and vibrant. I know his family will carry on his important mission,” Coffin said.

As part of his commitment to the trucking company and other businesses, Ruan served on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, and was its chairman in 2011.

His extensive list of board memberships has included Hubbell Realty Co., Iowa Business Council, the Greater Des Moines Partnership, the Downtown Community Alliance, Chief Executives Organization and Castle Pines Golf Club. He was past chairman of the Des Moines Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Greater Des Moines YMCA.

Ruan graduated from Northwestern University and the program for management development at Harvard University. After graduating from Northwestern, he served as a Navy Seabee during the Vietnam War.

He is survived by his wife, Janis, their two children, John Ruan IV (Alison), and Rachel McLean (Ben) and grandchildren.

Ruan ranks No. 35 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.

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