Ladies and gentlemen, Last2First family… we’re closing out Season 4 with a heavyweight.
Jeff Thomas is the President & CEO of Priority Dispatch, a second-generation leader who helped turn a one-vehicle operation serving Procter & Gamble in 1973 into a nearly $100M regional powerhouse in the Midwest.
In this Season 4 finale, we sit down in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio to unpack:
✅The legacy of his father – a true pioneer and founding force behind the Messenger Courier Association (now CLDA)
✅What it was like growing up in the family business, stuffing envelopes and sweeping warehouses for free
✅How Jeff inherited a $4–5M company and bet big on banking, growing Priority to $10–12M with facilities across Ohio
✅The real story behind the power struggle with his dad as growth, risk and vision started to collide
✅How his father’s health crisis unexpectedly cleared the way for Jeff to lead – and forced him to build a smarter leadership team
✅Why he embraces the idea that he’s a leader, not a micromanager, and hires people “a lot smarter than me”
✅The Opportunity Matrix his team still uses today to evaluate every new deal so they’re not “just making deliveries for delivery’s sake”
✅Why drivers – ICs and W-2s – are “not a means to an end, they are the end itself”
✅How Priority has navigated banking, pharma distribution, healthcare and multiple reinventions over 50 years
✅Why he’s resisted private equity and stayed privately held to better serve customers, associates and drivers
✅His take on the future of last mile, local vs. national providers, and why he believes:
“Bigger is not always better, but better is better.”
If you’re in the last mile space and you want to get smarter, more profitable, and more intentional about the work you say “yes” to… this episode is loaded with game-changing insight.
Apple Podcasts 🍎 https://podcasts.apple.com/hn/podcast/last2first-podcast/id1778491941
Spotify 🎧 https://open.spotify.com/show/3gDS58wo6IWeLl48LHukdP?si=gmhv7Lh8QvyY5xxFS9ZpPA
💼 Connect with our guest:
🔗 Jeff Thomas- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-thomas-327807b/
📌 Shoutout to our Sponsors!
Dropoff Inc.
https://www.dropoff.com/
info@dropoff.com
+1 888-376-7633
GigSafe
https://www.gigsafe.com/
+1 407-496-9882
Deliver Different
https://deliverdifferent.com/