Stephen M Speakes

Stephen Manning Speakes (born May 21, 1952) is a retired Lieutenant General now serving as the President and CEO of Kalmar Rough Terrain Center (KRTC), LLC. The company makes rough terrain material handling equipment for the Military and Commercial markets. KRTC is located in Cibolo, Texas on the outskirts of San Antonio. As the CEO since 2013 Steve has focused on emphasizing customer relationships, expanding into the commercial marketplace while improving quality and efficiency. The company's signature product is the Rough Terrain Container Handler (RTCH) famous to Soldiers and Marines across Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait as the only piece of equipment capable of moving 20 and 40 foot containers "the last tactical mile" to the troops. Prior to joining KRTC, Steve was an executive vice president at USAA from 2010-2013 responsible for enterprise strategy, and external affairs. Steve's final assignment in a 35-year Army career was as the Deputy Chief of Staff G-8 Programs for The United States Army. In that role Speakes was responsible for developing and presenting the Army's financial strategy to the Executive Branch and to Congress. He was also charged with equipping the Army during a time of wartime operations when demand for new force protection capabilities required innovative and adaptive solutions. Previously, Steve served in a wide variety of command and staff assignments in the US, Germany, Iraq and Kuwait. He is married to Judy, a retired physician assistant, and also a proud father.