Latest Staff Appointments and Departures In and Out of Shipping and Logistics

UK – Staff appointments and departures across the transport sector start this week with the news that the British International Freight Association (BIFA) has confirmed the appointment of David Stroud as its policy and compliance adviser with responsibility for logistics issues relating to air freight, security and sustainable logistics.

Stroud, with a background in air freight and aviation security, has previously held senior management roles with DHL Global Forwarding, Tigers Global Logistics and NNR Global Logistics. He replaces Mike Jones, who is taking on the responsibilities of Colin Young, BIFA’s regional consultant for London West and South West, who retired earlier this year.

Stroud was welcomed by director general Robert Keen and will be working alongside Robert Windsor, executive director and Pawal Jarza, policy & compliance advisor (Customs matters) in BIFA's Policy & Compliance department. He also becomes the manager of BIFA's Air Policy Group.

UK – Shoreham Port has bid farewell to Rodney Lunn, Chief Executive after ten successful years of service at the Port. Rodney started at the Port in 2009, bringing with him a wealth of industry knowledge, having spent 40 years working in the maritime sector. His successor, Tom Willis has already joined the Port after starting his handover in November.

UK – GB Railfreight (GBRf), Britain’s third largest rail cargo outfit which was acquired by Infracapital in September, has officially announced the appointment of James Cooper as Chairman. James commenced his new role on 29 November 2019. He comes to the position having last served as Chief Executive of Associated British Ports and formerly worked as Chief Executive and Chairman of Red Funnel Ferries.

The new man has however a financial background with previous positions at BNP Paribas, and Hambros Bank and, notably, a leading role with his new bosses at Infracapital. GBRf says these are exciting times as turnover now exceeds £200 million a year and the company operates over 1,000 trainloads a week, moving approximately 23% of the UK’s rail cargo.

UK – Sixteen Modern Apprentices (MA) will soon be welcomed aboard by west coast ferry and harbour operator CalMac after successfully completing their training. The Deck, Engine and Maritime Hospitality MAs will now all take up full time positions with the company. CalMac works in partnership with City Of Glasgow College to deliver high end, industry tailored apprenticeships with classroom based training combined with practical on-board experience.

CalMac recruited their 100th MA this year and the company’s commitment to training the next generation of seafarers has seen the number of apprentices recruited annually more than double since 2016. In other news The vagaries of the west coast weather has ensured Captain Alex Morrison’s career finished just as it started. After a 45-year career with CalMac, his very last scheduled sailing from Oban to Barra was cancelled due to bad weather, just as his first sailing as Master was back in 1980. He joked:

”I’ve finished as I started, that’s what I’ll be remembered for, nobody will bother remembering what happened in between. I’ve got nine grandchildren, so I’ve got a full time job giving then ideas of mischief they haven’t discovered yet, they’ll keep me on my toes.”

Captain Morrison started his career with the company as a second mate on the MV Iona in 1974, before taking command of his first vessel, MV Lochmor, serving the Small Isles’ routes six years later. He has been Master of the MV Isle of Lewis for the last 22 years, first on the Ullapool Stornoway route and latterly serving Castlebay.

UK – Pall-Ex, having just become the first pallet network to be owned by its members and senior management team, has made two major appointments. Former Palletways network development director, Barry Byers, is the new UK Managing Director, while Martin Rantle has been named Non-Executive Chairman, after previously serving as vice president of sales for DHL. Martin will join the team in January with Barry joining him in March 2020.

UK – WORLDWIDE – Jamie McMichael-Phillips, former long term chair of the International Hydrographic Organisation’s Worldwide Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC) Database working group, has taken up position as the new director of The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project which intends to map the entire ocean floor by the year 2030.

Seabed 2030 is an international initiative, supported by over 100 maritime organisations. The project has four Regional Centres, based in strategically-located areas of the world, which feed data into a Global Centre hosted at the British Oceanographic Data Centre in Southampton, UK.

US – For the first time in its 92-year history, a woman has been named Port Attorney at the Port of Oakland. The Port’s governing Board has appointed Michele Heffes as the head of its in-house Legal Department. Ms Heffes succeeds Danny Wan, the prior Port Attorney, who became the Port’s Executive Director 14 November. A 31-year Port veteran, Ms Heffes had been Interim Port Attorney while the Board sought Mr Wan’s replacement.

Ms Heffes advises the Port on legal affairs that arise in the conduct of its Maritime, Aviation and Commercial Real Estate businesses. Her responsibilities include legal practice areas from litigation, real estate and labour to environmental compliance and insurance coverage.

FRANCE – WORLDWIDE – In line with the global drive by shipping groups, container line and logistics outfit CMA CGM has appointed Guilhem Isaac Georges as Sustainability Director to head the new Sustainable Development & Environment department reporting to the CMA CGM Group's Executive Office. In 2015, he joined the office of the French Minister of Environment, Energy and Sea as Senior Political Advisor. Before joining the CMA CGM Group, he was Public Affairs Director at CITEO, a role he held since 2017.

SWEDEN – Nils Jaeger, currently President Region EMEA, Volvo Financial Services, has been appointed President of the new Volvo Group business area Volvo Autonomous Solutions which commences its work on January 1. He will report to the Volvo Group President and CEO Martin Lundstedt and be a member of the Group management team.

Born in 1969, Nils Jaeger has served as President Region EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Volvo Financial Services since 2014. Before joining the Volvo Group he has held several leading positions at John Deere. He will now lead a new business area responsible for further accelerating the development, commercialisation and sales of autonomous transport solutions from the Volvo Group.

Photo: Rodney Lunn who left as CEO of Shoreham Port this week.