Scott Finlayson
Kansas City Operations Manager
The product of a large, extended (and loud) clan, Scott is a family man. Born in the heart of Tulsa, Oklahoma. One day he found himself growing up in southeast Asia, where he loved to play soccer on the fields of Hong Kong. Deeply rooted in his DNA is a passion for being outdoors mixed with an unquenchable thirst for adventure. If you can’t find Scott, try the nearest mountain biking path or rock climbing wall, and… if those don’t work check his garage. Here, you’ll find him building his own custom off-road trucks (odds are… you’ll need a ladder to jump aboard). Scott is also a self-taught metal artist that has created several one-of-a-kind pieces that are featured in galleries throughout Kansas City along with exclusive work that’s highlighted in some of Chicago’s most iconic venues. Now, when you catch Scott in conversation you’ll never be disappointed by his salt-of-the-earth persona, greased by a quick-witted charm that will bust your gut.
With all that said and the doing and making and talking he’s known for, Scott is a husband with a heart of gold with eyes only for his first love and wife. As a father of two young boys, he does everything he can to lead by example so that they’ll follow in his footsteps… with dirty hands, scratched up knees, and a generally terrorized, accepting mother.
Professionally, Scott cut his teeth working the docks at UPS in Lenexa, Kansas. Soon he found himself behind the mic, controlling dispatch with drivers servicing the Topeka, KS terminal for YRC. With this in-the-line-of-fire experience, Scott shifted to frontline management and supervised over 530 unionized, over-the-road drivers operating out of the Kansas City, Mo facility. Well, as you can imagine, managing seven primary long-haul relay lanes and six long-haul sleeper team lanes serving the west coast, Scott needed to some mountain air and headed to Colorado Springs and Pueblo, CO, where his responsibilities included managing all local P&D, Dock and Long Haul drivers interfacing with the facility. It was here where he administered all safety training and certification of new hires as well as re-certification for HazMat, OSHA and Smith Systems Driver Training for all current employees.
Following YRC, Scott moved to Director of Safety, Human Resources, and Equipment Maintenance at Carrier Logistics, LLC., in Overland Park, Kansas. As such, he was in the thick of the day-to-day grind: making sure all equipment was up-to-date with maintenance, service and safety, invoices were void of billing errors, overseeing recruiting and hiring, devoting a large amount of time to focus on the DOT CSA/SMS initiative, and if that’s not enough, Scott kept a close eye in the entire rail operations within Carrier, after all, he developed them.
Today, Scott is the Operations Manager at Mark-It Express, controlling the entire KC operation, handling sales, and oversees roughly 20 employees. In the upcoming months, Scott aims to double the head count. When you ask Scott where he wants to take the company, the answer comes easy. It’s his goal to get Mark-It Express in additional area of transportation like regional dry van freight and refrigerated freight, which he has loads of experience in.
As far as Scott is concerned, the road ahead it wide open and stocked with opportunities. He sees it as clear as day.