As a child, Lina grew up in a world where presidents, CEOs, and other business leaders were mostly men. At home, her father was the breadwinner, and opportunities were mainly available to men. On the other hand, women were primarily mothers and wives, and any other career path was a distant dream and difficult to achieve.
However, Lina’s most significant conviction has always been not to victimize herself or her gender. She believes in equity and equal opportunities for all. As the only woman partner at GLT Logistics (a Third-Party Logistics Company), she considers herself a strong and passionate advocate for female empowerment and all the benefits it brings to women. For this reason, she enjoys sharing on her Instagram account tips to create a community of women who seek to shape themselves daily as individuals and professionals. She strives to empower all women who want to become successful leaders.
Lina’s story as an entrepreneur in the logistics industry began in 2006 when she came to the United States for an internship. She decided to stay and co-founded 1A Intermodal in 2008, a broker she worked tirelessly to build. Lina is not a native English speaker and belongs to two minority groups, as a Latina and a woman. As difficult as it was to be away from her native Colombia and her family and to learn how to do business in a foreign country, Lina and her partners consolidated 1A Intermodal and merged with another company in 2017. The merger resulted in the larger and stronger company that became GLT Logistics, with 360 employees and one of the largest 3PL´s in southeast United States.
As this new chapter began, Lina created the marketing department and became the Chief Marketing Officer. Lina had been in charge of the administrative department at her previous company, and building this new team was challenging. She learned along the way that marketing is a mix of management, science, and art, and she is passionate about that. Every day is an opportunity to learn new things. She embraces the challenge of contributing to the impressive expansion of GLT Logistics, where revenue has grown 265% in the last four years. Under Lina’s leadership, the marketing department has generated significant brand awareness for the company through several marketing projects. One of the most successful programs is GLT’s Logistics Sessions. This event series was designed to educate and share industry knowledge by inviting leaders in the logistics industry to discuss their insights. The series has featured guests from major companies such as Rob Estes, former President and Chief Executive Officer and Billy Hupp, Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President at Estes Express Lines, Ellen Voie, Founder of the Women In Trucking Association, Drew Wilkerson, President North American Transportation at XPO Logistics, and Nabil Malouli, Vice President of Global E-commerce at DHL. Each event is attended by over 500 people and has raised funds for the American Aid Logistics Network (ALAN). Lina is dedicated to developing business strategies that allow her to work as a team player in every department in the company.
After age 30, Lina experienced her most extraordinary evolution when personal challenges, like divorce, forced her to step out of her comfort zone. That situation made her face her fears and focus on building her self-confidence and mastering her role at GLT. Her desire to share what she has learned during her career led her to present a speech on female empowerment in a primarily male industry at the Women In Trucking conference in 2022. That presentation gave her the opportunity to share with other women in logistics and contribute to their personal and professional growth.
Today, GLT Logistics offers its employees an inclusive and equitable environment to express themselves freely. 62% of the company’s employees are women. Of these, the same percentage of women hold leadership positions, from Team Leaders to Lina herself.
Lina is currently preparing the first female empowerment course for the women of GLT Logistics, which will be launched in March during Women’s History Month. The course will be updated periodically, allowing different executives to connect with internal stakeholders and contribute to their personal and professional development. The course aims to teach the women of GLT that the only limit to achieving their dreams is themselves. Lina knows her personal life lessons can help other women overcome their fears.
