In our unique series, cargo.one Founder & Co-CEO Moritz Claussen chats to visionaries from the logistics world, uncovering their most valuable personal insights and experiences. Subscribe today!
The cargo.one:one series continues with more valuable, personal reflections from movers and shakers in the air cargo industry. Each episode, Moritz Claussen sits down with an inspirational guest, and delves into their journeys into logistics, their hard-earned personal advice, and the passions and missions that drive them today. Learn everything they have to share!
In Episode 2, Moritz is joined by industry legend Glyn Hughes, Director General of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA).
Enjoy the full length episode, here:
In this episode, Glyn shares his remarkable and personal story, including his challenging time with formal education and how a chance introduction to air cargo ignited a 40 year long impactful career and passion: “You blink an eyelid and there goes a decade, you know, in two decades. And I think that's actually pretty wonderful…I've never had more than two consecutive days, let's say, where I've not wanted to be in this industry.”
Glyn’s first job in the industry was as a freight forwarder, and it taught him a vital lesson: “That was a temporary job and it struck me then - freight forwarders work far too hard, way too hard”. Glyn explores his many years at IATA and some of the important initiatives that were achieved. He shares his huge admiration for the entire ecosystem that worked as “superheroes” during the COVID-19 era.
Inspiring the next generation
As part of his work on training and education in the industry, Glyn works hard to encourage young entrants about the world of opportunity in our industry: “If you look at my bio and CV, there's no education mentioned because I want people to know that this industry has an opportunity for everybody. You get out what you put in…This industry is a great home for everybody”.
Glyn has seen time and again that the right attitude is often more powerful than aptitude in building an impactful and fruitful career: “When I talk to students today and young people, I say, look, you'll be faced with jobs that on the outset will not look very glamorous or interesting, but everything you tackle, tackle it as if you're the CEO of that job.”
Showcasing our global value
Moritz and Glyn explore the enormous impacts air freight has upon the global economy and global society. Glyn underlines the importance of driving public awareness to attract essential new talent and secure Governmental support, highlighting: “For 2023…Global tourism generated 1.4 trillion dollars, all tourism. And yet in the same year, the value of air cargo exports was over 8 trillion dollars. So it was over 6 times as much as all tourism.”
In exploring the balance between sustainability needs and the industry’s mission and purpose, Glyn believes that the air cargo industry has “an equal responsibility” to both minimize its environmental impacts and demonstrate the value that it brings to the world.
“This is not just about moving boxes from A to B. It's about changing lives at the point of origin, changing lives at the point of destination. And that gives people hopefully pride in their job and a sense of satisfaction. The number of lives that people in this industry save every year is phenomenal.”
Glyn Hughes
What is Glyn’s biggest concern for the industry today? Tune into Episode 2 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.
