Joe Dagnese

Chief Executive Officer PECO Pallet

Last Reviewed: September 29, 2026

Executive Summary

Joe Dagnese is Chief Executive Officer of PECO Pallet, which runs a pooled network of block pallets for shippers across the United States, Canada and Mexico, serving food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, produce and similar supply chains from its headquarters in Itasca, Illinois. He took the role in June 2016 after about two decades inside Con-way Inc., where he ran Con-way Truckload and then Con-way Freight. He has since led PECO through a change of ownership, from The Pritzker Group to Alinda Capital Partners and the UK’s Universities Superannuation Scheme in 2020, with the management team kept in place.

Career Highlights

• Chief Executive Officer of PECO Pallet since June 2016, succeeding David Lee, who had led the company since 2005.
• Remained CEO through PECO’s October 2020 sale to Alinda Capital Partners and the Universities Superannuation Scheme; at the time PECO reported 21 million pallets across more than 80 North American facilities.
• Appointed President of Con-way Freight in June 2015, a business unit trade press put at 22,000 employees and $3.6 billion in revenue.
• Executive Vice President of Con-way Inc. and President of Con-way Truckload from February 2014.
• Held leadership roles at Menlo Logistics from 1995, including Vice President of International and Vice President of the Automotive and Government Services Group.

Professional Journey

Dagnese began in transportation on the shipper side, managing North American transportation operations for Procter & Gamble. In 1995 he joined Menlo Logistics, the contract logistics and supply chain management arm of Con-way Inc., where he spent nearly twenty years in a series of roles. From September 2008 he was Vice President of Menlo’s Automotive and Government Services Group, and in October 2013 he became Vice President of its international operations.

In February 2014 Con-way made him an Executive Vice President of the parent company and President of Con-way Truckload, its full-truckload carrier. Sixteen months later, in June 2015, he was appointed President of Con-way Freight, a business unit trade press later put at 22,000 employees and $3.6 billion in revenue. That role was short-lived for structural reasons: XPO Logistics acquired Con-way in October 2015.

PECO Pallet named him chief executive in June 2016. PECO, founded in 1997, supplies block pallets through a pooled network rather than selling them outright, which makes it a logistics business as much as a pallet business. At his appointment the company was part of The Pritzker Group’s portfolio, and he succeeded David Lee, who had been president and CEO since 2005 and stayed on as an advisor during the transition. In October 2020 Pritzker sold PECO to Alinda Capital Partners and the Universities Superannuation Scheme, and the buyers kept Dagnese and his team in charge. The company, which was based in Irvington, New York at the time of that sale, now gives Itasca, Illinois as its headquarters.

Education

Indiana University

Bachelor’s degree, Business and transportation