Looking back on what we’ve seen in the air cargo industry this year, 2016 will likely be remembered as the year of cross-border e-commerce – when the well-established idea of purchasing goods online went truly global and expedited customs clearance became a near-universal forwarding concern. Then, in the second half of the year, global commerce took a hard turn – mostly to the right – with the surprise Brexit vote and the unprecedented ascendancy of President-elect Trump in the United States.
For most of this tumultuous year, three names kept appearing in the news – JOSEPH C. HETE, CEO of ATSG; ULRICH OGIERMANN, chief cargo officer for Qatar Airways; and JENS BJØRN ANDERSEN, CEO of forwarder DSV – usually followed by a stellar quarterly report, a blockbuster merger or some other incremental triumph. As we near the end of the year, we expect that the hard groundwork these executives have invested in through 2016 will likely start bearing fruit next year. Here’s what to look for from these rising stars for 2017 and beyond.
Three executives to watch: