Bradley to Step Aside as CTA/OTA President and CEO at End of Next Year

Toronto… After more than 30 years in the trenches fighting on behalf of the trucking industry, David Bradley has announced he will be stepping aside as president and CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance and the Ontario Trucking Association at the end of 2017.Bradley joined OTA as Director of Economics in 1985 after starting his career on Bay St. Six years later, at the age of 33, he was promoted to president of the OTA.

In 1997 he developed a plan to rejuvenate the national trucking lobby which culminated in his taking on the additional responsibility of leading the newly formed Canadian Trucking Alliance. He continues in the dual CTA-OTA role to this day.

Over the course of his career Bradley has steered both organizations through some of the industry’s most turbulent times – brought on by deregulation, an unrelenting focus on truck safety, free trade, numerous recessions, at least one major overhaul of the tax system, changes to weights and dimensions standards, labour unrest, a thickening of the Canada-US border, and environmental regulations, just to name a few. Through it all he has been a tireless defender of the industry and a strong advocate of responsible trucking and tough safety standards, demonstrated by his unrelenting support of regulatory initiatives such as mandatory activation of speed limiters and the upcoming requirement for electronic logging device. He’s been quoted over the years as saying he’s loved every minute of it.

In a recent letter to OTA chairman Scott Tilley he said, “It is with some amazement, but always with appreciation, that I think back on what a leap of faith it was back in 1991 to have entrusted such a young guy to represent such an incredible and important industry.”

“While I have loved dealing with the issues, it is the people I have had the pleasure to get to know, to work with and to learn from – the members, the staff and all the other characters I have come across in government, the media, etc. – that have made coming to work every day so energizing and rewarding. I have been truly blessed.”
In a letter to CTA chairman Mark Seymour, Bradley expressed similar sentiments: “I am humbled by the trust placed in me and hope I have been worthy of it. The role – for me it has always been more than a job – has its challenges and requires certain sacrifices, but the rewards are enormous. Getting to know the industry and Canada has been an amazing experience. Being able to view our industry through an international lens has led me to the unequivocal conclusion that Canadian carriers are second to none in service, innovation, safety and environmental stewardship.”

In typical fashion, he says there is still much to accomplish before the end of 2017 rolls around.

“There will be plenty of time for reflection down the road,” he says. “For now, it’s business as usual for me.”