Cohort 21

Lara Gardner

J.B. Hunt Transport Director II, Intermodal Network Planning

Lara Gardner is currently a Network Planning Director within the Intermodal Division at J.B. Hunt Transport. J.B. Hunt is founded on innovation, disruption, and service, where the mission is to create the most efficient transportation network in North America. In line with the mission statement, Lara’s primary objective is to increase equipment efficiency and utilization across the company’s growing and expansive intermodal container network.

During her 14-year tenure at J.B. Hunt, she has worked within Customer Experience, Dedicated Contract Services, Intermodal Dray Operations, and most recently Intermodal Corporate Operations. Early within Lara’s career she had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience building and fostering customer relationships while working on site at a multitude of different retail, foodservice, and agricultural customers. These operational experiences also placed her varying leadership roles within the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Northwest Arkansas.

Lara is a graduate of the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science in Human Resources Management. After 10 years in field operations, she relocated back to Northwest Arkansas in 2021 and currently resides in Bentonville, AR. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her 5-year-old son and exploring the great outdoors in the natural state.