Air Cargo Job Starts the List of Freight and Logistics Appointments This Week
Transport Related Recruitment (and Departure) News SWITZERLAND – Logistics appointments start in the air transport sector this week with the news that Emirates SkyCargo[1] has appointed David Harman to the role of Cargo Manager for Switzerland. Based in Zurich, Harman will be responsible for overseeing all operational and commercial aspects for the freight division of Emirates in the country. He has previously worked as Vice President for dnata Ground and Cargo Handling in Zurich, and succeeds Nathalie Picaud, who has taken responsibility for Pharma Sales in Europe for Emirates SkyCargo.
NETHERLANDS – Head of Communications at Damen Shipyards, Sylvia Boer, has been appointed President of the Netherlands Chapter of the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA[2]).
UK – Julie Lennard has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA[3]). Lennard will take up the post shortly and has been DVLA’s interim Chief Executive since March. Prior to this she was DVLA’s Director of Strategy, Policy and Communications, held since August 2014.
US – Atlas Air Worldwide[4] has elected Jane Lute and Sheila Stamps to the company’s Board of Directors. Lute is President and Chief Executive Officer of SICPA North America and previously served as Deputy Secretary US Department of Homeland Security. Stamps is a director of CIT Group, Inc. and CIT Bank N.A, Commissioner and Audit Committee Chair of the New York State Insurance Fund and director of IES Abroad.
US – Xeneta[5] has announced Florian Dussler as General Manager and Vice President of Sales, Americas. Dussler, previously VP Americas for logistics software firm Transporeon, will head Xeneta’s New York Office. US – Crowley Maritime[6] has announced the promotion of Tim Bush to Vice President and Deputy General Counsel.
He will be based in Houston, Texas, and report to Michael Roberts, Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Bush will continue to serve as Crowley’s Lead Attorney on several large projects for the US government, including the Defense Freight Transportation Services contract for the US DoD, and Crowley’s transport and logistics relief efforts in response to Hurricane Irma and Maria, primarily for FEMA. US – Kansas City Southern (KCS[7]) has announced several staff changes, with the promotion of Ginger Adamiak from Vice President Energy and Short Line Relations to Vice President Energy, Industrial Development and Commercial Innovation.
Adamiak reports to Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Brian Hancock. Walczak most recently served as Vice President Strategic Operational Planning, a position he has held since 2016. He will report to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Songer.
Parkerson most recently served as Associate General Counsel, a position she has held since 2016 when she joined the company. She will report to Senior Vice President Human Resources Lora Cheatum. Godderz most recently served as Vice President Labour Relations and Corporate Secretary, a position he has held since 2015.
Godderz will report to Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer William Wochner. Michael Walczak has been named Vice President Mechanical, Maquiling Parkerson to Vice President Labor Relations, and Adam Godderz to Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Effective immediately, each of these moves are for professional advancement and organisational development.
Additionally twelve Directors were appointed during KCS’s recent Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Lydia Beebe, Lu Cordova, Robert Druten, Terrence Dunn, Antonio Garza, Jr., David Garza-Santos, Janet Kennedy, Mitchell Krebs, Henry Maier, Thomas McDonnell, Patrick Ottensmeyer and Rodney Slater have all been named to serve on the KCS Board of Directors until the Annual Meeting of Stockholders in 2019. SOUTH AFRICA – Several changes have been named to Transnet’s[8] Board of Directors with three Senior Executives having resigned, Chairperson Linda Mabaso, and Executive Directors Yasmin Forbes and Vusi Nkoyane.
Following the previously announced resignation of Garry Pita as Chief Financial Officer in April, Transnet named Mohammed Mahomedy as interim CFO. The remaining Board Members – Seth Radebe, Potso Mathekga, and Sainul Nagdee – were subsequently removed from their positions of Non-Executive Director, by the country’s new Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan. Popo Molefe, who previously chaired the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), has been appointed the interim Transnet chairperson.
With five others named to the interim Board – Dimakatso Matshog, Louis Zeuner, Ramasela Ganda, Edward Kieswetter and Ursula Fikelepi. Transnet National Ports Authority[9] has announced the appointment of Nozipho Mdawe as its new Chief Operating Officer, effective since May 21. She takes over the role from Phyllis Difeto.
The role of TNPA COO has been expanded and will include: Marine Services, Aviation Services and Pilotage, Continuous Improvement, Port Planning, Lighthouses, SHE & Risk, Security, Emergency Management, Infrastructure, Dredging Services, Ship Repair, Port Control and Port Maintenance.
Mdawe has most recently served as Secretary General of the Port Management Association for Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA) in Kenya between July 2015 and April 2018.
Moshe Motlohi had briefly been appointed to the COO role on an interim basis and now serves the newly created role of General Manager of Corporate Affairs and External Relations, based in the Office of the Chief Executive.
References
- ^ Emirates SkyCargo (www.skycargo.com)
- ^ WISTA (www.wista.net)
- ^ DVLA (www.gov.uk)
- ^ Atlas Air Worldwide (www.atlasair.com)
- ^ Xeneta (www.handyshippingguide.com)
- ^ Crowley Maritime (www.crowley.com)
- ^ KCS (www.kcsouthern.com)
- ^ Transnet’s (www.transnet.net)
- ^ Transnet National Ports Authority (www.handyshippingguide.com)
Wind turbine transport to impact traffic on Wilder Road
BAY COUNTY, MI — Wind turbine escorts may back up traffic this morning in Bay County. Semi-tractor trailers will be hauling the turbines until 9 a.m. on Friday, May 25. The route is along Wilder Road between Interstate 75 and Tierney Road, according to Bay County Central Dispatch.
Motorists may want to seek an alternative route. It’s unclear where the turbines are being transported to, but for the past couple years have made their way to Port Fisher in Bay City, including by waterway[1]. There are more than 25 wind farms in Michigan, many of which are located in the Thumb.
There are currently talks for a new wind farm in Bay County’s Beaver Township.
References
- ^ made their way to Port Fisher in Bay City, including by waterway (www.mlive.com)
Chinese Logistics Group Takes to the Highway in Autonomous Road Haulage Truck
Latest Weapon in Automated Supply Chain Passes Shanghai Driving Test CHINA – Suning Logistics, the retail logistics subsidiary of Chinese commercial giant Suning Holdings Group[1], says it has completed road testing for its inscrutably named ‘Strolling Dragon’ autonomous heavy-duty truck. The company together with its subsidiary TTK Express Company which it bought last year, possesses 6.28 million m2 of warehouse space with a delivery network covering 2,810 districts and counties in China with its vast road haulage fleet, and this foray into autonomy follows previous ventures designed to automate the supply chain.
The company launched its Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) warehouse ahead of the ’11/11′, or ‘Singles Day’ shopping festival in 2017, providing a ‘goods-to-people’ solution instead of the traditional ‘people-to-goods’ model, something now a standard procedure with ecommerce in the West.. As a result, the time spent selecting an item from shelves during the fulfilment process has been shortened to 10 seconds – five times more efficient than manual work.
In April, Suning Logistics rolled out its ‘Biu’ autonomous delivery robots, which can work around the clock to deliver goods directly to customers. With the expansion of its robot warehouse networks, as well as its drone delivery network that it says has started operating, Suning Logistics is aiming at a supply chain that is increasingly automated. Strolling Dragon is the largest unmanned truck in Suning Logistics automated fleet and is able to operate without human input within pre-programmed parameters.
It is the first self-driving truck developed by a Chinese e-commerce company to pass logistics campus tests and highway-scenario road tests in China. Suning’s plans call for drivers to be assisted rather than replaced, for the foreseeable future. The company says that the tests, completed in Shanghai, evidence it can help create a more comfortable, and safer, working environment for over 100,000 truck drivers working for the company.
Equipped with cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI), deep-learning technologies, and high-tech gadgets such as laser radar, according to Suning, the truck has ‘superhuman vision’ that enables it to accurately recognise obstacles at a distance of over 300 metres, even at high speed. In addition, the unmanned truck can make emergency stops, or avoid obstacles at a response range of 25 metres, allowing for safe autonomous driving even at a speed of 80 km/h. As elsewhere, AI technology is predicted to reduce transport costs for road haulage freight firms, which will find it increasingly difficult to hire long-distance drivers in China’s ageing society.
Although current laws and regulations in China ban self-driving vehicles on public roads, automated trucks will likely get the green light first as technologies advance and the government improves rules to accommodate innovations. Also of course much of the Chinese commercial traffic travels almost entirely on the highways and is therefore likely to be accepted more readily than smaller autonomous vehicles in urban environments. Following this latest development Zhang Jindong, Chairman of Suning Holdings Group, commented:
“The success of Strolling Dragon’s self-driving tests is a ground breaking accomplishment for Suning, and represents another step forward in our Online-to-Offline (O2O) smart retail strategy.
Suning’s goal is to develop its logistics business into the biggest and most intelligent retail infrastructure network in China.
The promise of automation solutions will not only boost efficiency in our logistics operations, but also benefit the industry, and consumers, by offering more possibilities, and a better shopping experience.”
References
- ^ Suning Holdings Group (www.suningholdings.com)