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Our cargo.one:one series continues with personal reflections from one of the most recognizable names in the global air cargo industry. In Episode 4, cargo.one Founder & Co-CEO, Moritz Claussen, chats to Andres Bianchi, CEO of LATAM Cargo.
Andres started his aviation and logistics career in investor relations at LAN Chile, and was soon bitten by the air cargo bug. He would remain loyal to the Group we know today as LATAM Cargo for nearly 20 years, taking the helm of key areas including sales and marketing, network development and revenue management, before becoming its CEO.
His personal approach has kept him humble, resilient and focused on building long term strength in the market: “In the cargo industry in particular, the volatility is huge. So you go from having great years into underperforming your budget quite significantly…I think the main element is to try to think beyond the cycle and try to figure out, maybe in the good years we're not as good as we think we are. We have to keep pushing…how can we take advantage of the capabilities we've built to gain a different position?”
Building diverse teams
Andres’ teams are widely known for their friendly and caring nature, admitting, “I think the fact that our people are friendly and warm, it's a result of who they are, not of anybody's particular leadership”. Andres has certainly succeeded in building and nurturing diverse teams at LATAM Cargo, something many airlines still struggle with. He reflects on the resulting business value: “The more diverse the people allows you to get to better solutions because you have different points of view and you can probably shine some light on blind spots that you wouldn't have otherwise.”
Enjoy the full length episode, here:
Championing safety and digitalization
Frequently presenting on stage and being interviewed on the subject, Andres is passionate about air freight safety: “Safety is our first priority. And that's not a cliche – we really feel that way...If we have to make any sort of decision that involves safety, safety takes priority over any commercial or economic consideration.” Under his leadership, LATAM Cargo has led the way in obtaining numerous certifications for safety, for example, the first to obtain certification for lithium battery transport.
Andres shares that safety excellence is a long term commitment that requires continued energy: “It's never going to be green on any dashboard because you always have to be figuring out where things could be better because if it's a never-ending game. You have to always push yourself to figure out where those risks are, how they change, how they evolve, and how you then manage and mitigate them.”
Another area of achievement has been strides with successful digitalization, including digital distribution with cargo.one. Andres is a firm believer in the power of the digital customer experience: “Digital doesn't need to be impersonal. Digital can actually allow you to be more personal because you can devote time to the things that really matter instead of things that are, let's say, less relevant, but take a lot of time to fix”. When asked about the pace of digital progress across the industry, Andres hopes for an acceleration: “The industry is evolving a lot slower than I would like.”
“Ironically, I think companies within the industry are moving faster than the industry itself. And that's partly because we've been slow to adopt standards that allow us to really integrate and fully leverage the benefits of digitalization across companies, which is ultimately what will drive the industry to a better place and be more useful to its customers.”
Andres Bianchi
The essential work needed for air freight decarbonization is another area where Andres sees unfulfilled potentials: “One of the critical things is how we find ways to streamline and standardize a lot of the bureaucracy that sits around decarbonization…we can digitalize a lot of these tools and therefore focus on the really meaningful conversations.”
Ambitious for progress
As Chair of IATA’s Cargo Advisory Council, Andres remains ambitious to build the best possible version of global air freight, and encourages stakeholders to focus on powerful, big picture possibilities. He admits that the industry can struggle to “get to the core of the issue sometimes”, addressing areas “piecemeal”. A more holistic approach to industry challenges would allow a “focus on the key parts of the problem instead of on things that don't really add value to the solution.”
Andres teams’ success with LATAM Cargo reflects just how much hard work and investing for the long term will pay off. He shares a valuable philosophy with us: “I think in any industry, but in this one in particular, you have to keep working on developing the stuff that will help you grow in the future…don’t get blinded by the lights when things are very good, but also don't get too down on yourself when things are not going great.”
Who does Andres’ think has superpowers? Tune into Episode 4 now to find out! 🤩
cargo.one:one features many more exciting guests in the series. If you enjoyed this episode, stay tuned to our blog or subscribe using your favorite podcast platform including Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Castbox and more.
