Cushman Recalls Fond Memories of Matty Moroun

Dan Cushman, president and CEO of PAM Transport, at his office in Tontitown: “I have to focus on what we do and do it well.”

Former PAM Transport Services CEO Dan Cushman remembers going into a board meeting in 2010 and receiving the ire of director Manuel “Matty” Moroun, the Detroit transportation titan whose family owns 68% of PAM.

The company had been losing gobs of money before Cushman took over in 2009, but he was slowly and methodically working on a turnaround plan. Moroun, who died July 12 at age 93, addressed Cushman.

“It was the only time he ever barked at me,” Cushman said. “He said, ‘When are we going to start making money?’ I said, ‘But Matty, we made money this quarter.’

“He smiled and said, ‘Oh, well, keep it up.’”

The billionaire Moroun was hugely influential and controversial in Detroit, where his ownership of the Ambassador Bridge — the heavily trafficked bridge between the United States and Canada — led to battles with local, national and Canadian governments. Cushman acknowledged Moroun’s tenacity as a businessman but has more personal memories.

“Matty was a guy who worked until his last days,” said Cushman; Moroun retired as a PAM director in April. “He never hung up the phone with me without telling me he loved me. You believed it and felt it. He was a tough businessman, but you knew how much he cared about you and the company.”