Alex Theissen Long ‘s journey didn’t begin in offices or high-level meetings. His story begins in a workshop: as a mechanic’s assistant, with diesel engines roaring around him and transmissions that required him to learn the hard way. Amidst the grease and tools, he discovered that it wasn’t a temporary job, but the beginning of a passion that would captivate him forever .
Over time, that young man from the workshop went on to direct preventive maintenance at the same company where he started, but this time to dictate policies and then to design vehicles and transmissions .
Although trained as an electrical mechanical engineer , his true learning came from the dual system that his father of German origin instilled in him: studying and working at the same time .
So, at 22, Alex asked for an internship where he could “see internal combustion,” never imagining that this desire would lead him to freight transport, a sector in which he has remained for more than 40 years .
His career has been a journey that combines the technical with the human . He went from dictating maintenance policies and vehicle design to influencing standards, procedures, and government relations.
Today, at the National Association of Private Transportation (ANTP) , where he serves as president of the Board of Directors, he leads with the same conviction: every day in transportation is different and requires character to face the unexpected.
But beyond the technical achievements, Alex says his greatest pride lies in the people . Having trained operators, mechanics, and executives who are now better professionals and better human beings is, for him, his true legacy.
In his words, the industry is not transformed only by technology, but by values and passion passed down from generation to generation.
He carries that same spirit into his family life. With more than 35 years of marriage, two children, and the news that he’ll be a grandfather this September, he places family at the center of everything .
“Compared to professional success, there’s nothing like it,” he says proudly, convinced that developing well-rounded human beings is as valuable as running a complex industry.
Defining himself in one word isn’t difficult for him: passionate . Whether he’s speaking as an engineer, husband, father, friend, or in his role at ANTP, he does so with the same energy and dedication. “I would never dedicate myself to something I don’t love,” he asserts.
That passion, more than his speech, is reflected in how he lives, in what he sacrifices, and in what he invests to achieve results.
His outlook on the future is optimistic, yet demanding. He acknowledges that Mexican transportation today is much better than it was 40 years ago, but insists that we never stop learning and improving.
Through anecdotes, lessons, and convictions, Alex Theissen Long makes it clear that his leadership is marked by more than technique or management: by the ability to inspire.
With humor, determination, and passion, he has made transportation not only his career, but his life . And with that in mind, his message to the industry is: “May those who come after them proudly say that the transportation they’ve been in is better thanks to those who came before.”
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