James Overley

Chief Executive Officer East Coast Warehouse & Distribution

Last Reviewed: September 28, 2026

Executive Summary

James “Jamie” Overley is Chief Executive Officer of East Coast Warehouse & Distribution, a temperature-controlled third-party logistics provider based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, that runs warehousing, drayage and trucking near major container ports for importers, exporters and domestic producers. He joined as chief financial officer and became CEO in 2010. Since then the company has grown from its base at the Port of New York and New Jersey to operations near the ports of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Savannah, Charleston and Houston. The growth came through a 2021 acquisition, new sites and a 2022 investment from Sam Zell’s Equity Group Investments. He is a finance executive by background, and he said so himself: “Coming from the finance side, I’m results-driven.”

Career Highlights

• Chief Executive Officer of East Coast Warehouse & Distribution since 2010, after joining as chief financial officer.
• Acquired Temp-Distribution of Maryland in January 2021, taking the company into the Port of Baltimore market.
• Leased 500,000 square feet near the Port of Savannah in 2021, the company’s first expansion into the Southeast.
• Brought in Equity Group Investments as a partner in January 2022, remaining CEO and sitting on the new board with three EGI executives.
• Announced a US$57.5 million, 65-job operation near the Port of Houston in December 2025, the company’s first in Texas.
• Appointed Tyler Mitchell as President in July 2026 to run commercial activity, operations and expansion.

Professional Journey

According to his published biography, Overley began his career at KPMG, working with banks, savings and loan institutions, mortgage lenders and real estate businesses. He later held chief operating officer and chief financial officer roles at transportation providers with revenue of $300 million to $400 million, and was a partner at Grisanti, Galef and Goldress, a turnaround firm, where he led several corporate turnarounds. The same biography says he won the Large Corporation Turnaround of the Year Award from the Atlanta Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association twice, and that over his career he has raised, restructured or refinanced more than $1.1 billion of capital.

He joined East Coast Warehouse & Distribution as chief financial officer. A 2016 Inbound Logistics profile said the owners wanted “a leader who could attract and manage capital, and control costs”. Sources differ on whether he started in 2007 or 2008, but both say he became CEO in 2010. His first priorities, he told the magazine, were a five-year strategic plan built around organic growth and acquisitions, a renewed commitment to service for the largest accounts, performance measures, and new technology, including transportation, yard and warehouse management systems. He also described the company’s recovery at its Jersey City distribution centre after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The growth plan began to show from 2021. In January the company bought Temp-Distribution of Maryland, a temperature-controlled trucking and warehousing business just outside the Port of Baltimore. In March it announced a 500,000-square-foot lease near the Port of Savannah. In January 2022 Equity Group Investments, Sam Zell’s private investment firm, invested in the company. Management kept an ownership stake, and EGI’s Mark Sotir, Evan Harwood and Tyler Goldstein joined the board alongside Overley. EGI said the company had “excelled under Jamie’s leadership”. The company has since added a Charleston location. In December 2025 the company announced a US$57.5 million operation in Baytown, Texas, near the Port of Houston: a 321,440-square-foot warehouse that also serves as a base for its Safeway Trucking business.

By July 2026 the company described itself as operating 3.8 million square feet across six port markets. That month Overley appointed Tyler Mitchell, formerly a director at Siemens, as President, responsible for commercial activity, operations, customer experience and geographic expansion. Overley said the company needed to scale its “enterprise infrastructure” as its footprint grows.

His biography also lists a seat on the Rutgers Board of Advisors for adult education and on the board of the Maritime Association of the Port of NY/NJ, along with membership of several regional freight and trucking associations. He is an endurance athlete who has finished two full Ironman triathlons and more than 20 half-Ironman races.

Education

Indiana University

Bachelor of Science, as stated in his self-supplied biography. The field and year are not given.