Transcon Has Its Second Top Management Shake-Up in Year

Transcon Inc. has restructured its top management--the second such overhaul in less than a year--removing Joe E. Hall from the positions of president and chief operating officer of Transcon Lines, the company’s money-losing trucking unit.

Hall, 49, has been named vice chairman of Orange-based Transcon Lines, Vice President James E. Fox said. Burke G. Piper continues as vice chairman of Transcon Inc., the Los Angeles-based parent company. No one was named to the positions of president and chief operating officer.

In November, the board asked company director Orin S. Neiman to take on the jobs of chairman, previously a non-management job held by Piper, and chief executive, replacing Hall.

The company, caught in a rate war, has not made a profit since the third quarter of 1986 but said it expects to become profitable in the second half of the year. Employees recently agreed to wage cuts in exchange for a share of future profits.

“Mr. Hall, in my opinion and Mr. Neiman’s opinion, is one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry about trucking operations. He is a salesman deluxe,” Fox said. “But when you have the losses that we’ve had, sometimes you need new faces and new ideas.”

In addition, Transcon named Philip R. Dobb, 46, senior vice president of operations for the trucking subsidiary. He had been vice president of Transcon Lines’ eastern division since 1982.

Larry R. Corn, 47, was named senior vice president of sales and marketing. He had been central division vice president since 1982.