Gregory T. Swienton is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ryder System, Inc., a FORTUNE 500^® transportation and supply chain management solutions company.

Mr. Swienton joined Ryder in June 1999 as President and Chief Operating Officer, a position he held until becoming President and Chief Executive Officer in November 2000. A member of Ryder's board of directors since June 1999, Mr. Swienton was named its chairman in May 2002.

Prior to joining Ryder, Mr. Swienton was Senior Vice President of Growth Initiatives at Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNSF) and had also served as BNSF's Senior Vice President of the Coal and Agricultural Commodities business unit. He joined the former Burlington Northern Railroad in June 1994 as Executive Vice President of its Intermodal business unit and became Senior Vice President of its Industrial business unit when Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation was formed in September 1995.

Prior to joining BNSF, Mr. Swienton was Executive Director of Europe and Africa for DHL Worldwide Express in Brussels, Belgium, a position he held from 1991 until joining Burlington Northern. From 1988 to 1990, he was DHL's Managing Director of Western and Eastern Europe, located in Brussels. He also served four years as Vice President and General Manager of DHL Airways, Inc., residing first in Chicago and then in Houston. Mr. Swienton has held various positions, including sales, marketing and national account management with the Illinois Bell Telephone Company in Chicago and AT&T in Chicago and Minneapolis.

In 2002, Mr. Swienton became the first transportation industry executive to be awarded the National Safety Council's highest honor – The Green Cross for Safety medal – in recognition of his career-long commitment to workplace safety. He is a member of the board of directors of Harris Corp., a communications equipment company, and Lennox International, Inc., a leading provider of climate control solutions. He is also Chairman of the board of trustees of St. Thomas University in Miami. A recognized source of information and insights on industry and economic trends, Mr. Swienton has been a frequent guest on financial market oriented programming of major media including Fox Business Network, BBC, Bloomberg TV, CNBC and CNN, which in 2003 named him CEO of the Week. In 2008, Mr. Swienton's personal service to his church, community, and country, was recognized by the Catholic Church, which named him to the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Gregory the Great. This honor is one of five orders of knighthood that are conferred by the Pope.

Mr. Swienton earned his MBA with an emphasis in Finance from the University of Chicago and a BBA degree in Marketing from Chicago's Loyola University.