Chris O'Brien, Chief Commercial Officer at C.H. Robinson takes the main stage in this fireside chat with TMSA Executive Director Jennifer Karpus-Romain. Chris will cover an array of topics, including:
  • Proving the value of marketing
  • Taking risks and saying yes to challenges
  • The value of having integrated sales and marketing
  • When to lead and when to learn
  • Empathy and thinking externally

Chris OBrien-3776-crop

Chris O'Brien, Chief Commercial Officer at C.H. Robinson

Christopher O'Brien joined C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. in 1993 and is currently the Chief Commercial Officer. Chris is a member of the senior management committee and is ultimately accountable for all customer satisfaction, strategy and support. In addition to strategy, Chris leads the global corporate teams that support our customers and our business in the functions of marketing, sales and account management.

Prior to this Chris was Senior Vice President of the enterprise since 2012 and Vice President of the North American Division since May 2003. Chris has served as the manager of the Raleigh, North Carolina office as well as the general manager and later president of the company's European division where he spent five years in Belgium and later France. Chris started in sales and account management roles in our Chicago market, and later was a C.H. Robinson on-site representative at a major global grocery retailer. At work Chris is passionate about developing the careers of others and driving change for improvements. Chris’s areas of expertise are in the fields of sales, customer management, global supply chain management, leadership, mergers and acquisitions, retail supply chains, inbound transportation, transportation outsourcing and Transportation Management Systems (TMS).

Chris is a member and former track chair of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), where he is a frequent speaker. He has served on the advisory board of Logistics Quarterly. And he is on the Board of Trustees of the University of Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Alma College in Michigan. He stays active with his family of five and his passion for the arts including American mid-century design and architecture. He enjoys jogging, mountain bike racing, downhill skiing, platform tennis, and Michigan State athletics.