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We are sending you this Proxy Statement in connection with the solicitation of proxies by our Board of Directors (the “Board”) for the 20192020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Werner Enterprises, Inc. The 20192020 Annual Meeting will be held for the purposes set forth in the Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders on the cover page of this Proxy Statement. We are mailing the Proxy Statement, proxy and our Annual Report to Stockholders for the year ended December 31, 20182019 (the “2018“2019 Annual Report”) on or about April 5, 2019.3, 2020.

Regardless of how you hold your shares, your right to vote in person at the Annual Meeting is not affected by signing and returning the proxy by mail (as generally done by registered stockholders) or by submitting your proxy pursuant to your broker’s instructions (as done by beneficial owners, commonly by the Internet or telephone).

For purposes of the 20192020 Annual Meeting, Clarence L. (“CL”) Werner and Derek J. Leathers will act as the appointed and authorized “Designated Proxy Holders.” Your executed proxy appoints each of the Designated Proxy Holders as your duly authorized attorney-in-fact and gives the applicable Designated Proxy Holder the power to represent and vote at the Annual Meeting all shares of our outstanding common stock that you are entitled to vote. The Designated Proxy Holders will vote your shares as instructed by you on your proxy. If you do not provide voting instructions on the proposals discussed in this Proxy Statement, or for any other matters properly presented at the Annual Meeting, your proxy also gives each of the Designated Proxy Holders the discretionary authority to vote your shares represented thereby as noted in this Proxy Statement and in accordance with his best judgment.

the Annual Meeting, informing the Corporate Secretary of your proxy revocation and voting in person. Attendance at the Annual Meeting, in and of itself, will not constitute a revocation of a proxy.

We will bear all costs of this proxy solicitation, including expenses for the preparation, printing, assembly and mailing of materials. Some of our directors, officers and employees may also solicit proxies in person or by the Internet, telephone or other electronic communications, and they will not receive any additional compensation for making such solicitations. We will also reimburse brokerage firms and other custodians and fiduciaries for all reasonable expenses incurred for forwarding Proxy Materials to beneficial owners of our stock in accordance with customary practice. Your cooperation in promptly voting your shares and submitting your proxy will help to avoid additional expense in the event the Company retains an outside firm to solicit proxies.

On the date of mailing this Proxy Statement, the Board of Directors knows of no other matters to be brought before stockholders at the Annual Meeting other than the matters described in this Proxy Statement. If any other matters are properly presented at the meeting, your signed proxy authorizes the Designated Proxy Holder to vote the shares represented thereby in his discretion and according to his best judgment.

Assuming the presence of a quorum, all other matters that properly come before the Annual Meeting will each require the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock, present or represented by proxy, at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote thereon.

Our Articles of Incorporation provide that the Board may be divided into two or three separate classes of directors. Each class must consist of not less than two, nor more than five, directors, and the classes should be nearly equal in number as possible. Our By-Laws provide for a range of not less than seven nor more than nine directors, divided into three classes (Class I, II and III), and each class should have the same number of directors to the extent possible. Directors hold office for a term of three years and until a successor is elected and qualified. The terms of office for each class of current directors expire at the annual meeting of stockholders in the following years: Class I, 2019;2022; Class II, 2020; and Class III, 2021.

You will be asked to elect threetwo directors in Class III to each serve for a three-year term expiring at the 20222023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until his or her respective successor is elected and qualified. The threetwo nominees for Class III director at the 20192020 Annual Meeting are:

Each of the nominees designated in this Proxy Statement has indicated his or her intention to serve as a director if elected, and the Board does not know of any reason why any nominee will be unavailable for election. In the event any nominee becomes unwilling or unable to serve as a director, the shares represented by your accompanying proxy will be voted for any substitute nominee designated by the Board, unless you expressly withhold (whether on your proxy or in person at the Annual Meeting) authority to vote your shares for the unavailable nominee or substitute nominee.

There are no arrangements or understandings between any of the nominees and any other person pursuant to which any of the nominees was selected as a nominee.

Identified in the table below are the director nominees and the directors whose terms will continue after the 20192020 Annual Meeting. Certain information provided to us by our directors and director nominee regarding their qualifications, skills and experience is also set forth in the biographies following the table. Family relationships between any directors and executive officers, who served at any time during 2019, are noted in the relevant biographies. None of the corporations or other organizations referenced in the biographies is a parent, subsidiary or affiliate of the Company.

Board of Managers of Burlington Capital Group LLC, which acts as the Board of Managers of America First Multifamily Investors, L.P., a publicly traded company, and serves on its audit and compensation committees. Located in Omaha, Nebraska, Burlington Capital Group LLC’s business involves real estate, money management and emerging markets. Mr. Jung is a director and officer of the Omaha Zoological Society. Mr. Jung has significant knowledge and experience in financial management, accounting processes and corporate governance that is derived from his professional and other experiences. He brings to our Board substantial accounting and financial expertise and sophistication, exceptional administrative proficiency, overall board experience and comprehension of our business operations and industry that contribute to the Board’s collective qualifications, skills and experience. Mr. Jung also qualifies as an audit committee financial expert and serves as Chair of both our Audit Committee and served as Chair of our Compensation Committee.Committee during 2019.

Service Company), a NYSE listed company;company, and Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Western Regional Medical Center; Arizona Public Service Company;Center. He has served as Chairman of the nuclear and the Peter Kiewit Foundation.operating committee of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation since 2004 and also serves on its corporate governance committee. He previously served as a director of AMERCO, the parent company of U-Haul International, Inc., and Action Performance, a NYSE company, and was a former advisory board member of AMEC, a multinational company headquartered in Europe. Mr. Gallagher’s vast experience as legal counsel to numerous public and private corporations combined with his knowledge and experience from participating on the boards of other publicly-traded and private companies and his extensive experience addressing corporate governance matters gives him a unique perspective that serves the Board well.

The Board has affirmatively determined that all members of our Board of Directors are independent pursuant to SEC rules and the listing standards adopted by NASDAQ, except for CL Werner and Gregory L. Werner. The Board has also determined that each member of the three Board committees satisfies the applicable independence requirements of NASDAQ and the SEC.

At its annual meeting, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee reviewed the (i) legal and regulatory standards for assessing Board and Board committee independence, (ii) criteria for determining a director’s “audit committee financial expert,” “non-employee director” and “outside director” status and (iii) responses to annual and biannual questionnaires completed by our directors. After completing its review, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee submitted its independence recommendations to our Board. Our Board then made its

One of the primary roles of the Board of Directors is to oversee our senior management in the competent and ethical operation of our business and to ensure that our stockholders’ interests are being properly served. To achieve these objectives, the Board establishes and maintains high standards of responsibility and ethics that, when consistently applied and followed, contribute to our business’s overall success.

The Executive Chairman presides over each Board meeting and is actively involved in determining agendas for Board meetings and serving as a liaison between our Board and management. The Board appoints our Executive Chairman and our Chief Executive Officer. CL Werner serves as our Executive Chairman, and Derek J. Leathers serves as our President and Chief Executive Officer. Each individual was appointed by our Board to serve in his current position until he resigns, is removed, or is unable to serve due to death or incapacity, pursuant to Section 2 of Article III of our By-Laws.

The positions of Chairman and CEO are held by two individuals instead of the same person. We believe our current leadership structure is effective for us. This configuration demonstrates to our stockholders, employees and customers that our primary leadership roles are served by two qualified people who each have an extensive depth of knowledge about the Company’s business and industry and are committed to our development and success. Although CL Werner is not an independent director, as our founder he demonstrates a long-standing dedication to and significant ownership interest in the Company.

We believe that separating the Chairman and CEO positions, having the majority of our Board and each Board committee comprised of independent directors (who meet regularly in executive sessions) and having independent directors serve as Chairs of our Board committees provides an effective and strong leadership structure for the Company. Our Board has the flexibility to continue or modify our leadership structure in the future, as the Board deems appropriate.

Company management is responsible for risk assessment and mitigation on a Company-wide basis, and our Board oversees and reviews these risk management efforts overall. Our Board believes that risk oversight fundamentally includes understanding the material risks we confront and how management responds to such risks, as well as a comprehension of what risk levels are appropriate for us. Typically, management identifies and measures various risks facing the Company and analyzes the factors associated with such risks, such as the probability and frequency of occurrence and potential impact on our cash flow, financial results and overall business and operations. Diverse types of risk are identified which are generally competitive, economic, regulatory or technological in nature. Management then develops response plans to address, mitigate and monitor identified risks and also reports and discusses these risks and plans with the Board. In its risk oversight role, our Board regularly evaluates and confers with management about the objectives of and risks involved with each plan. The Board also considers risk when assessing our business strategies and objectives, which is also integral to the Board’s risk management and tolerance evaluations.

The members of our Board of Directors possess a variety of experience, knowledge and judgment, and the diversity of these skills complements our corporate governance structure. Our corporate governance policies are designed to enable effective and thorough decision-making and to allow proper and comprehensive monitoring of the Company’s performance and compliance. These policies are also meant to provide our Board with practical guidelines that are regularly reviewed and can be appropriately revised and updated in response to regulatory developments and evolving business and governance practices. Our fundamental corporate governance principles and practices are set forth in our Code of Corporate Conduct and other policies, each of which is available on our website. Pursuant to SEC rules, we will disclose amendments to or waivers from our Code of Corporate Conduct, as they relate to our CEO, Chief Financial

Officer (“CFO”) and Chief Accounting Officer (“CAO”), on our website or in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC. To date, we have not granted any waivers from our Code of Corporate Conduct to the CEO, CFO or CAO.

The Board of Directors conducts its business through (i) meetings of the Board, (ii) actions taken by written consent in lieu of meetings, (iii) actions of its committees and (iv) discussions with management, the independent auditors and other consultants retained from time to time.consultants. The Board has three standing committees: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (the “Governance Committee”). The Governance Committee evaluates each committee’s composition and appoints committee members annually, subject to Board approval, and such assignments may change from time to time.approval. A majority of full committee membership elects committee Chairs, unless elected by the full Board. Committee members cannot be removed except by a majority vote of independent directors in office at the time. The responsibilities and duties of each committee are discussed below.

Our Board delegates various responsibilities and authority to the committees to foster the effective governance of the Company. Each committee also meets periodically or when appropriate and reports their respective activities and actions to the full Board. The committees operate pursuant to written charters (including any amendments thereto) approved and adopted by the Board. Each committee charter is available on our website.

The composition of each Board committee is as follows: