John Ruan

For a nation that relies on trucks to keep commerce moving, it is fitting that John Ruan hauled his first load of gravel on July 4, 1932. Using money from the sale of his family’s car, he purchased a single truck. Within months he had three, and by age 19 he was managing a fleet of a dozen trucks across the Midwest.

From that modest start, Ruan has grown into a diversified enterprise with more than 300 operations nationwide, 4,000 power units, 10,000 trailers, and 5,000 team members. The company has also expanded into banking, real estate, and global trade—all under the guiding vision of its founder. Today, leadership continues with Ben McLean, representing the third generation of the Ruan family.

John Ruan himself became a transformative figure in American trucking. In 1997, the American Trucking Associations dedicated its Ruan Transportation Center in Washington, D.C., in recognition of his six decades of industry service. He made safety a cornerstone, establishing the first formal safety program in U.S. trucking and treating it as both a moral duty and a competitive advantage. Under his leadership, Ruan introduced million-mile trucks, developed emission-reduction practices, and created programs that rewarded safe driving.