Mark notes emotional intelligence, empathy and energy as key skills in his work in Sea Logistics at Kuehne + Nagel. He looks after a team of 35, providing them with the right support, leadership, and resources required to provide operational excellence, and best-in-class temperature controlled sea freight solutions.

Working his way up from an intern position in 2015, Mark has been able to work in a variety of positions for Kuehne + Nagel, starting in the UK, and moving to Paris in France, and then Bremen in Germany. From there, he secured the role of Manager for the Central America and Caribbean Region in Costa Rica, before moving to Panama, and in 2021 he was offered the job as Sea Logistics Reefer and Healthcare Director, reporting to the Head of FR Sea Freight.

Mark says that, more than any qualification, his skill in “getting comfortable with the uncomfortable” has really bolstered his success:

“This is our daily logistics life! Solving issues for our customers, adapting to constraints in order to help people.”

Mark believes his team have been central to his rise to Reefer Sea Freight Manager at such a young age. He really values their trust and support. Working with what he considers to be the best, most dedicated and passionate people is what makes his job so enjoyable.

Ryan knew he wanted a fast paced career, but he wasn’t sure exactly where that would be.

“I never wanted to go to university. After college I got a job as an Assistant Manager at Costa Coffee, and this meant that I would end up speaking to my current employer (Kuehne+Nagel) on a daily basis to place orders. I began to think that logistics might be a good career option for myself”

He didn’t have any industry experience, but secured a Bid Management Apprenticeship with Kuehne+Nagel, which then led to a full time position and ultimately, to an exciting new opportunity in Australia.

“I came across a job listing for an Excellence Manager with Kuehne+Nagel Australia and reached out to express my interest. I had a job offer within three weeks and moved to Melbourne within six.” 

Ryan’s role entails supporting Account Managers with tender management, continuous improvement, business reviews and other tasks on behalf of customers. Even though his role would normally require a degree, because he had completed his apprenticeship and also had a Level 3 BTEC he was deemed to have the required credentials. Which proved to be a good call:

“I was recognised in the Multimodal 30 Under 30 Awards, and given the opportunity to be a guest panellist at the Multimodal Convention at the NEC. It was a real privilege to have the opportunity to share my passion for the industry with such a large audience.”

Before starting at Kuehne + Nagel, Holly knew very little about the logistics industry, and has really enjoyed learning whilst on the job.

“It’s an exciting industry to work in, particularly with the rise of e-commerce, and it’s a stable industry too.”

Now, as Reward & Benefit Lead, Holly is responsible for developing, designing and implementing the Reward Strategy across KNUK, as well as coordinating the existing reward cycles and benefit offerings for everyone at KNUK.

“In the logistics industry, we aim to offer market leading benefits. Some of the topics that I manage include our wellbeing strategy, our gender pay gap, bonus, annual salary reviews and private medical insurance.”

Holly completed a graduate scheme in logistics straight from university, which helped her gain the HR knowledge needed to excel in her role. Holly also gained her CIPD Level 5 qualification during her time as a graduate and, after completing the scheme, spent some time as an HR Business Partner, before building her management experience as HR Service Centre Manager.

She’d never considered the area of rewards and benefits before, but when an opportunity came up, she decided to take the leap. The role centres around some of her favourite parts of her work in general HR, making positive change to her colleagues’ lives and supporting their wellbeing. Now, she manages a small team of two Reward Specialists, too.

The autonomy to drive change within the organisation is one of Holly’s job highlights, and one of her proudest achievements so far has been introducing a colleague forum with the Kuehne + Nagel management board, giving colleagues a voice on topics that matter to them.

“Thanks to the colleague forum we have introduced volunteering days, enhanced our life assurance policy, and implemented a hybrid working approach.”