Account Manager - Airlines

Summary

Forward Air Corporation is seeking an Account Manager - Airlines to manage and grow strategic airline customer relationships. The role serves as the primary customer contact, analyzes account performance, identifies growth opportunities, leads business reviews, resolves service challenges, and coordinates with internal teams to drive retention, profitability, and service excellence.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of strategic customer accounts
• Serve as the primary point of contact for assigned accounts, building and maintaining strong relationships with customer stakeholders across operational, commercial, and leadership levels
• Understand customer supply chain strategies and align solutions to support those initiatives
• Position the Company as a preferred transportation provider within partner logistics networks
• Monitor and analyze account performance, revenue trends, customer satisfaction, and retention risks to identify opportunities and recommend actions
• Identify organic growth opportunities, share-of-wallet expansion opportunities, and additional transportation solutions within existing accounts
• Establish and maintain customer-specific performance metrics and fact-based reporting to identify root causes, lead corrective action planning, and drive continuous improvement initiatives
• Create, prepare, and lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and executive business reviews, presenting operational and financial performance, identifying opportunities for growth, and developing strategic action plans
• Act as a customer advocate within the organization, influencing internal stakeholders and aligning resources to support customer commitments and business objectives
• Drive account retention, expansion, and profitability by identifying growth opportunities, developing strategic account plans, and supporting contract renewals and commercial negotiations
• Maintain accurate account plans, customer activity, business opportunities, and pipeline visibility within Salesforce and other business systems
• Partner with Operations, Customer Service, Pricing, Commercial, and other internal teams to improve account performance, customer experience, and long-term retention
• Partner with Sales on growth opportunities, RFP responses, customer expansions, and win-back initiatives
• Monitor market trends, customer needs, and competitive activity to identify growth opportunities
• Support customer onboarding, implementation activities, and service launches
• Manage customer escalations, service concerns, and operational challenges through effective cross-functional collaboration
• Maintain CRM documentation, account activity, forecasting information, and customer records
• All other duties as assigned to meet evolving business needs

Skills

• Undergraduate degree in Business, Aviation Management, Supply Chain, Logistics, or a related field from an accredited college or university
• Strong relationship management, analytical, communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated ability to identify revenue risks, growth opportunities, and customer retention strategies
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and build effective relationships across functions
• Demonstrated discretion and confidentiality in handling and protecting sensitive information
• Proficient with common office technologies, including Windows PCs, Microsoft O365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), CRMs (Salesforce), and web conferencing (Teams, Zoom, Webex, etc.)
• 3+ years' experience in aviation, transportation, account management, or related customer-facing experience
• Deep understanding of airline cargo operations, airport environments, transportation services, or related logistics functions

Qualifications

Must Haves

• Undergraduate degree in Business, Aviation Management, Supply Chain, Logistics, or a related field from an accredited college or university
• Strong relationship management, analytical, communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated ability to identify revenue risks, growth opportunities, and customer retention strategies
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and build effective relationships across functions
• Demonstrated discretion and confidentiality in handling and protecting sensitive information
• Proficient with common office technologies, including Windows PCs, Microsoft O365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), CRMs (Salesforce), and web conferencing (Teams, Zoom, Webex, etc.)

Nice to Haves

• 3+ years' experience in aviation, transportation, account management, or related customer-facing experience
• Deep understanding of airline cargo operations, airport environments, transportation services, or related logistics functions

Benefits

• Remote work arrangement