Get to Know Insight 2024’s Keynote Speaker: Former US Navy Commander Mike Abrashoff

At this year’s Insight Tech Conference, we’re excited to showcase a wide range of innovation, with business leaders joining us from across the transportation industry. And that’s why we’ve recruited Mike Abrashoff, former United States Navy Commander of the USS Benfold, to be this year’s keynote speaker and share his wealth of expertise and passion for driving innovation. 

In his time with the US military, Abrashoff learned many lessons about the drive and cooperation it takes to run a tight ship. And as a seasoned executive leader and author of three published books, Abrashoff provides deep insight into how businesses can combine strategic vision, respect for skilled professionals and unwavering discipline to realize groundbreaking initiatives and gain a competitive advantage. 

Dozens of publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review and Fast Company have cited Abrashoff as an inspiration for businesses to emulate.  

“The most important thing that a captain can do is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew. The idea is to empower every individual to share the responsibility of achieving excellence,” said Abrashoff. “I’m excited to join Insight 2024 and engage with industry leaders and innovators who are shaping the future of transportation, and to ask you all an important question: if this business is your ship, how would you fix it?”

We recently had a chance to sit down and talk with Abrashoff about his history and why he’s excited to join the exciting lineup of speakers at Insight. Check out the conversation below to learn more.

Haven’t yet registered to attend? Visit our event website to secure your spot amongst the pioneers of tomorrow's transportation landscape. We can’t wait to see you there!

Trimble: We’re thrilled to have you speak at Insight, Mike. Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how your career got started?  

Mike Abrashoff: I'm the sixth of seven children and grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. I played football in high school and had scholarship offers to Temple, Duke, William & Mary, West Virginia University and all three service academies. I decided on the Naval Academy where a guy by the name of Steve Belichick was one of my coaches. Upon graduation, I served on a number of ships progressing from Division Officer to Department Head to Executive Officer (kind of like the COO) and then Commanding Officer of USS Benfold. Along the way, in between ships, I was an Admiral's aide in the Philippines, a personnel assignment officer where I matched officers to job openings on ships and finally the Junior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, Dr. William J. Perry.

What was the most rewarding or inspiring experience during your career in the Navy?

Without a doubt, commanding a $2 billion dollar guided missile destroyer was the highlight of my career, but being the number two assistant to the Secretary of Defense was definitely a great experience for different reasons. In this role, I worked just about 7 days a week for 27 months including holidays where we would visit our armed forces serving around the world. I learned a phenomenal amount, and was honored to serve in this capacity, but I’m not sure I’d ever want to travel so much again.

If you could give one piece of advice to leaders in the transportation industry, what would it be?

No matter what your role is, at the end of the day we are all in the people business and need to realize we are all on the recruiting and retention committee. The work done across the supply chain is more than just trucks and schedules. People will always be our competitive advantage and how we connect with them and engage them will give us the edge in a very tough and competitive industry.

What are you looking forward to the most during your time at Trimble’s Insight?

I love learning about every industry globally and have come to realize there's no one economy but thousands of mini-economies and how they all interact are things that can constantly be improved upon. Attending Insight 2024 is a fantastic opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals and exchange ideas on the forefront of transportation innovation. I look forward to sharing my insights and learning from the diverse perspectives represented at this premier event.

What technologies are you most excited about when it comes to enhancing business teams’ collaboration and capabilities?

I would never claim to be a technology expert, but this country is definitely facing demographic challenges and so how materials get transported more efficiently is definitely something everyone needs to be focused on each and every day. That's why I challenged every sailor to improve a process 1% a day.

There's still time to join us at Insight! Check out the complete agenda and register to attend on the conference homepage.