Programme

H.E. AHMED ALHAKBANI

Governer, Saudi Cusoms

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
10:30 – 12:30 At the forefront of trade logistics: Transforming Saudi Arabia into the logistics hub of the region

Biography:

H.E. Mr. Ahmed AlHakbani is the Governor of Saudi Customs. He was formally appointed to the role in April 2017 by His Majesty the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

In addition, H.E. Mr AlHakbani holds a number of prominent positions with leading Saudi organisations, including Chairman of the Board of the King Fahad Causeway Authority and Tabadul. He is also a serving board member of Saudi Arabian Airlines, National Gas and Industrialization Company (GASCO), Saudi Food and Drug Authority, Flyadeal and the Natural Gas Distribution Company.

H.E. Mr. AlHakbani was previously Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Commerce and Investment and overlooking the transformation and management of all international commercial offices (Commercial Attaches) of the Ministry of Commerce.
He also served as Secretary General and board member in the Saudi Exports Development
Authority (Saudi Exports) from 2013 to 2017.

Prior to joining Saudi Exports, H.E. Mr. AlHakbani was Director General of Information and Technology at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he lead the ministry’s overall organizational transformation project from 2010 to 2013.

He holds an MBA degree, Strategy, Economics and International from INSEAD and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from King Saud University in Riyadh. He also completed executive education courses at the London School of Economics and Political Science and IMD Business School in Lausanne.

CELESTE FAUCONNIER

Economist, Rand Merchant Bank

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
10:30 – 12:30 Where to invest in Africa

Biography:

Celeste is a Sub-Saharan Africa Economist for the Global Markets Research team at Rand Merchant Bank for the past thirteen years. She finished her under-graduate degree in International Relations at the University of Stellenbosch and completed her honours at Wits University. Celeste formulates macroeconomic and financial market views for various sub-Saharan African countries. Her team has won multiple awards in the past decade for the best Africa Research House, particularly at the JSE Spire Awards.

WESLEY HARRIS

C.S. Draper Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautic, Massachusetts Institute of Techonology

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
10:30 – 12:30 The Future of Global Logistics and Supply Chain: Drones and Air Mobility – potential and challenges

Biography:

Professor Wesley L Harris is currently Charles Stark Draper Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Housemaster – New House Residence Hall, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts; former Associate Provost for Faculty Equity, MIT, 2008- 2013.

He served as Head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT, 2003-2008 and as Associate Administrator for Aeronautics responsible for all programs, facilities, and personnel in Aeronautics at NASA, 1993-1995.

Professor Harris has developed an outstanding record in advancing cultural diversity in academe and in government.

FRANCIS MANGENI

Trade Director, COMESA

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
13:30 – 15:30 Lessons from Regional Economic Integration in Africa: From Regional Economic Communities to the African Continental Free Trade Area

Biography:

Dr Francis Mangeni is an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda and has taught Law at Makerere University and Law Development Centre on the Bar Course, as well as the Faculty of Technology at Makerere University, the Management Training Institute and the Police Training School in Uganda.

He has been Director of Trade, Customs and Monetary Affairs of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa since 2009.

Dr Mangeni’s work has assisted reforms of the International Economic Order for instance in the area of access to life-saving medicine and flexibilities for building sound technological bases, national and regional economic policy and regulatory reforms, deepening of economic integration in Africa, and it has built better negotiation capacity for Africa in the Multilateral Trade System and with development partners.

FATIH CIĞAL

Senior Vice President, Turkish Cargo

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
13:30 – 15:30 Liberalisation of air transport throughout the region

Biography:

Fatih Ciğal graduated from Konya Science High School in 1995. After he finished his education at the Instanbul Technical University (ITU) in 2003 as a graduate of Industrial Engineering, he started his early career in 2004, as a Quality Assurance Auditor with Turkish Airlines.

Between 2008 and 2010 he was an analyst in the Network Planning Unit of Turkish Airlines, and in  2010 he was appointed as  the Network Planning Manager. Responsible for the capacity and schedule planning of the whole Turkish Airlines network, Mr Fatig Ciğal reorganised the hub structure of the airline and the existing flight schedule thus opening the path to better aircraft utilisation and better network connectivity. The new wave structure and increased fleet utilisation helped airline strong 2012 and 2013 results.

After a 3 years’ successsful post  in the  airline network management, he was appointed as Vice President of Central Europe Operations. Having all commercial and administrative responsibility of Turkish Airlines operations in Central Europe (Germany, Benelux, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Czech Repupblic, Slovakia and Poland) with  28 administrative divisions  in 27 destinations. Under Mr Ciğal’s leadership between 2013 and 2018 the regions flight destinations increased from 20 to 27 and the annual sales volume increased by twenty percent.

Fatih Ciğal was appointed as Turkish Cargo Senior Vice President of Cargo Marketing and Sales as of  1 February 2018.

WILLIE SHUMBA

Senior Expert, AfCFTA

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
13:30 – 15:30 Africa’s integration through private sector involvement for the AfCFTA

Biography:

Willie Shumba has been a Senior Customs Expert and Advisor with the African Union Commission (AUC) in the Department of Trade and Industry since 2016. Prior to joining the AUC he was with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat as Head of Customs for over seven years. He was also a Commissioner with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority for seven years and was involved in Fiscal Policy Reforms, International Relations and Trade Negotiations. He has wide experience in customs and trade issues having been a participant at national, regional, continental and international levels. He is also a visiting lecturer at the National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe.

Mr Shumba has undergraduate degrees from the University of South Africa and holds an MBA degree from the National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe and an LLM from Nottingham Trent University, UK. He is a Fellow of the Zimbabwe Institute of Management (FZIM).

PAUL CHEETHAM

Managing Director, Freitan Logistics

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
15:40 – 16:40 Things you should notice in supplier contracts

Biography:

Paul Cheetham is a Board member and Immediate Past Chairman of the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF). He is a Voting Member of the IATA/FIATA Governance Board, a Member of the FIATA Air Freight Institute, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Tesuco Pension Fund, South Africa, and Managing Director of Freitan Logistics, South Africa for 12 years.

Paul’s previous experience includes serving as Chairman of the Airfreight Forwarders Association of South Africa (AFA), Managing Director and Director of Micor Logistics, South Africa for 31 years, Main Board Director of Micor Ltd, Public Company Accountant at Mitchell Cotts, South Africa, and Accountant at Charles Kendall Shipping, England.

He studied at Granville College, England (ONC Business Studies) and South West London College, England (HNC Business Studies, economics and law).

WILLIAM FULLARD

Director, Fullard Mayer Morrison Attorneys

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
15:40 – 16:40 Managing contract risks for forwarders:  a lawyer’s perspective

Thursday, 3rd October 2019
15:10 – 17:10 Air Freight Forwarder liabilities vis-à-vis the Direct Airwaybill / HAWB and with the relevant Montreal Convention and or Warsaw Convention pertaining to the carriage of Goods by Air.

Biography:

Since the beginning of his practice in 1995, William Fullard has built up a substantial commercial litigation practice with a special focus on the area of transport and freight forwarding where he advises a broad range of clients, from couriers, hauliers, warehousemen, clearing agents and freight forwarders, to industry associations.

William is currently external legal counsel to the South African Association of Freight Forwarders and is the South African editor of Forwarderlaw, the web-based legal resource on freight forwarding. He is also the editor of TPN Leasepack, a suite of commercial documents specially developed for Tenant Profile Network, a registered credit bureau.

ALISON WIXLEY

Head of Legal and Risk, Bidvest Freight

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
15:40 – 16:40 Managing risk in the contracting process

Biography:

Alison Wixley matriculated at Westville Girls’ High School, and went on to obtain her Bachelor of Arts, English Honours and LLB degrees at the University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg and Durban). She is an admitted attorney, chartered company secretary and corporate general counsel.

She has been working in the logistics and freight industry for over 14 years. She has had many roles and responsibilities throughout her journey at Bidvest Freight, including SHEQ compliance, security, insurance claims handling, compliance auditing and risk management. Her main focus in the past few years has been legal advice and opinions, in particular navigating the murky waters of liability and insurance in logistics and negotiating contracts in this regard.

Alison lives in Durban with her husband and three dogs.

JOHN ALLEN

HSSE Manager, Maersk

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
16:50 – 18:20 TBC

Biography:

John Allen is an experienced security practitioner, that currently works as an Independent Security Management Consultant. He has approximately 40 years working experience in investigations, covert security operations, physical security, security risk assessments, security crises management and security technology. The past 13 years he has been employed as a HSSE Manager in Maersk.

Mr Allen has security experience within Sub Saharan Africa in road transport, sea transport, warehousing and container depots. He is also experienced in commuter rail and freight rail.

KEVIN JOHNSON

Senior Vice President, Panalpina

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
16:50 – 18:20 Mitigating overland cargo crimes via technology

Biography:

Kevin Johnson is Senior Vice President of Corporate Security for Panalpina Management Ltd.  Among his and his global team’s principle responsibilities is Panalpina’s supply chain network and assets across 500 offices in 70 countries and Agents in another 50 countries.  Mr. Johnson also leads government and private sector security initiatives relating to CTPAT, AEO Europe, Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) and others on behalf of Panalpina and their customers.

Prior to joining Panalpina, Mr. Johnson served as Deputy Director, Office of Maritime and Land Division, Department of Homeland Security, TSA in Washington DC.   Mr. Johnson was responsible for the development of Highway, Rail and Maritime Cargo Security.  He played a fundamental role in the development of TSA policy impacting the transportation community and supply chain shipping partners.

Mr. Johnson served is a former Chairman of the Security Council of the American Trucking Associations.  He is a member of TAPA, Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Coalition, ASIS and a former Certified Fraud Examiner.

Mr. Johnson is a native of New York City, and earned his Bachelors degree from Bradley University in Peoria, IL.

LOURENS SMITH

General Manager, G4S Secure Solutions (SA)

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
16:50 – 18:20 Effective security escorting of high valuable cargo

Biography:

Lourens Smith is currently employed as General Manager by G4S Aviation South Africa. He holds university degrees in Security Risks Management and Forensic Investigation. He was previously the National Investigation Manager for G4S Secure Solutions South Africa.

His current portfolio includes the securing of airfreight cargo as from the time it arrives in South Africa, the escorting of high value cargo, airfreight and ocean freight, identification and mitigation of security risks and the implementation of intelligence strategies.

ALBERTUS VAN ZYL

Founder and Managing Director, UAV Aerial Works

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
16:50 – 18:20 How drones can help enhance freight security

Biography:

Bertus van Zyl is the founder and Managing Director of UAV Aerial Works, a South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) regulated company.

He is a manned aircraft pilot, commercial drone pilot and instructor. As an electronics engineer with a MBA from the University of Cape Town, with more than 30 years business management experience, Bertus is perfectly positioned to drive advancement in today’s fast-changing, technology driven, business environment.

Bertus’ involvement in the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (otherwise commonly known as drone) industry, was born out of the desire to create a sustainable, cutting edge and necessary business in today’s South Africa, which combined his passion for flying and the aviation industry. In 2017 Bertus started UAV Aerial Works and went through the arduous task of applying for the SACAA Remote Operating Certificate.

Being one of only 44 Remote Operating Certificate holders in South Africa, UAV Aerial Works and its aerial security surveillance service brand, Drone Guards, the company is breaking ground in the security industry.

RICHARD BROUGH

Technical Advisor, International Cargo Handling Coordination Association

Thursday 3rd October 2019
08:30 – 10:30 Practical applications of the CTU code

Biography:

Captain Richard Brough O.B.E, B.A .started his career with the British Merchant Navy in 1969 culminating in command level and at the same time serving a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve.

He came ashore in 1989 and after a spell in various port and stevedoring managerial positions with Humberside Sea and Land (Now PD Ports), served for two years as a Port Captain with OT Africa Line. He was then employed by a major stevedoring company in Hull rising to Managing Director following its acquisition by Associated British Ports.

In 2004 he left to set-up his own company; Brough Marine Limited; offering professional advice to companies involved in the Ports & Logistics sector. He started UK Port Services which employed 140 staff eventually until he sold it to Jenkins Shipping.

In 2011 he became Technical Adviser to ICHCA International, becoming a director of ICHCA in 2013. He is now Head of ICHCA International and widely acknowledged as an industry expert in a wide range of topics based on his 50 years of experience ashore and afloat.

ICHCA is an NGO recognised by some UN bodies especially IMO, ILO and UN ECE where Richard spends much of his time working on International Regulations and Guidance.

He was awarded an O.B.E. in HM The Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in 2011 for services to Learning and Skills.

He has been happily married to his wife Sheila for 45 years and in what is left of his spare time enjoys good restaurants, arts, culture and travel.

RAINIER STRAUSS

Underwriting Manager, Lombard Insurance Company

Thursday 3rd October 2019
08:30 – 10:30 Guarantees in Africa, an enabler of trade

Biography:

Rainier Strauss, Underwriting Manager with Lombard Insurance, matriculated from Hoërskool Randburg in 2004, and pursued his studies at the North West University in Potchefstroom where he completed his B.Com in Financial Risk Management in 2007. After his degree he furthered his studies at the North West University Business School in Advanced Project Management in 2008. He started his working career at Coface South Africa, an international credit insurance company as a Key Account Manager in 2009 until 2013. He joined the Lombard team in 2013 as an Underwriter in the General and Commercial team and was then promoted to the Head of the Logistics Portfolio in 2016 as Senior Underwriter. Rainier was promoted to Underwriting Manager of the General and Commercial Division in 2018. In 2018 he also completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration at Henley Business School, and he is currently studying a Master of Business Administration at the same institute.

MICHAEL YARWOOD

Senior Loss Prevention Executive, TT Club

Thursday 3rd October 2019
08:30 – 10:30 An introduction to the CTU Code from an insurance perspective

Biography:

Mike is a Senior Loss Prevention Executive having joined TT Club in October 2010, previously working in operational management roles within the logistics industry. Previous roles incorporated full responsibility in terms of budget, legislative, operational and health and safety compliance, dangerous goods safety advisor.

Mike is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Logistics and Transport, a Specialist member of the Institute of Risk Management and a Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute. Mike has several roles with industry organisations including being a co-opted Member of FIATA’s ABLM.

AZHAR JAIMURZINA

Chief of the Transport Connectivity and Logistics Section, UNESCAP

Thursday 3rd October 2019
11:00 – 13:00 Transport facilitation and logistics: global and regional perspective

Biography:

Azhar Jaimurzina is Chief of the Transport Connectivity and Logistics Section of the Transport Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). The Section supports member States in their efforts to develop integrated intermodal transport connectivity by assisting in further development of the Asian Highway, Trans-Asian Railway and Dry Ports networks and implementation of the necessary measures to improve the operational efficiency of transport systems, including through common regional frameworks, harmonized technical and operational standards and rules, application of new technologies to cross-border transport and innovations in logistics.

Previously Ms. Jaimurzina has worked as Chief of the Infrastructure Services Unit of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), Economic Affairs Officer for the Trade Logistics and Technology Branch of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Economic Affairs Officer of the Transport Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).  She has worked with more than seventy developed and developing countries and transition economies world-wide. In doing so, she provided substantive support to a wide range of the UN intergovernmental bodies and groups of experts, carried out comprehensive UN technical assistance and capacity building projects and drafted or contributed to a large number of UN analytical reports, legal instruments and technical standards on infrastructure development, inland transport, trade logistics and trade facilitation. Ms. Jaimurzina holds a Master Degree in International Law from Université Libre de Bruxelles and a Master Degree in International Relations from University of Chicago.

PHILIP WYLLIE

Founder, FreightPartner

Thursday 3rd October 2019
11:00 – 13:00 Technology in logistics: Themes and customer expectations

Biography:

Philip Wyllie was schooled at the Durban High School and worked in the Freight Forwarding and Contract Logistics environment for 27 years, 15 years of which as an Executive. He started FreightPartner 11 years ago, a niche consulting practice with global reach and recognition. Philip holds several industry qualifications and an MBA from Henley Business School. Philip is passionate about logistics and conducts work for many large, listed companies in South Africa and abroad and is well recognised for his ability to simplify process and to reduce costs by improving efficiencies.

SVILEN RANGELOV

Co-Founder & CEO, DRONAMICS

Thursday 3rd October 2019
14:00 – 15:00 Same-day nation-wide delivery with drones: Case studies

Biography:

As CEO Svilen leads the business team at DRONAMICS in developing the world-leading cargo UAV “The Black Swan” – a fixed-wing aircraft that can transport 350 kg at a distance of 2,500 km cheaper than any aircraft in existence.

In 2014 he co-founded DRONAMICS with his brother Konstantin, an aerospace engineer, with a mission to leverage advances in autonomy, aerodynamics and production, in order to democratize air freight and accelerate e-commerce in emerging markets. Svilen and Konstantin are leading a small but growing team of world-class aerospace engineers and logistics experts, and their pioneering work has won them numerous international awards. In 2018 DRONAMICS became IATA’s first strategic partner for drones worldwide.

Prior to DRONAMICS, Svilen managed projects in marketing and business development on four continents. He is an Economics graduate of Davidson College, USA.

DEE WADDELL

Global Managing Director, IBM Travel and Transportation Industries

Thursday 3rd October 2019
14:00 – 15:00 IBM’s view on logistics

Biography:

Dr. Dee K Waddell, Global Managing Director for IBM Travel and Transportation Industries, is responsible for leading global accounts in developing and delivering industry-leading solutions and services for airports, railroads, freight carries, logistics providers, port authorities, hotels, cruise lines, car rental companies, travel agents, and global distribution systems.

KAGURA WAMUNYU

CEO, Kobo360

Thursday 3rd October 2019

14:00 – 15:00 How freight forwarders fit in the marketplace model

Biography:

Kagure Wamunyu is the CEO, Africa Region for Kobo360. She is charged with the launch and growth of Kobo360 across Africa.

Kagure has a passion in transport, which she believes will be an important factor in the economic development of Africa. Previously, Kagure served as the Senior Director of Strategy for Bridge International Academies in East Africa, where she focused on policy and PPPs. Before Bridge, she worked as the country manager for Uber in Kenya where she joined as the first hire in Nairobi at launch and grew Uber to a major transportation option in Nairobi.

Kagure Wamunyu is currently pursuing a part-time PhD at the University of Oxford. She holds a Masters in City Planning with a focus on transportation from UC Berkeley, a BSC in Civil Engineering with a focus on Transport Engineering from North Carolina State and a BA in Mathematics from Meredith College. Kagure seats on the Board of Fuzu and the Somo Project. She is an active alumna of Zawadi Africa Education Fund.

WILLIAM FULLARD

Founding Partner and Legal Counsel of SAAFF

Wednesday, 2nd October 2019
15:40 – 16:40 Managing contract risks for forwarders: a lawyer’s perspective

Thursday, 3rd October 2019
15:10 – 17:10 Air Freight Forwarder liabilities vis-à-vis the Direct Airwaybill / HAWB and with the relevant Montreal Convention and or Warsaw Convention pertaining to the carriage of Goods by Air.

Biography:

Since the beginning of his practice in 1995, William Fullard has built up a substantial commercial litigation practice with a special focus on the area of transport and freight forwarding where he advises a broad range of clients, from couriers, hauliers, warehousemen, clearing agents and freight forwarders, to industry associations.

William is currently external legal counsel to the South African Association of Freight Forwarders and is the South African editor of Forwarderlaw, the web-based legal resource on freight forwarding. He is also the editor of TPN Leasepack, a suite of commercial documents specially developed for Tenant Profile Network, a registered credit bureau.

FLORIAN KLEIN

Head of the Center for the Long View

Thursday 3rd October 2019
15:10 – 17:10 The future of air cargo. How to perceive, manage, and monitor volatility and uncertainty around the airfreight sector

Biography:

Dr. Florian Klein is an advisor, corporate strategist and futures thinker with extensive experience in providing strategic counsel to senior decision makers at leading multi-national corporations and governments across Europe and globally. He is expert in facilitating the creation of robust strategies today, in light of an uncertain tomorrow.

Florian leads a team of scenario practitioners and A.I. specialists that work on a diverse range of strategy formulation and capability building projects across multiple geographies and sectors, including banking and finance, the energy and mining, technology, retail, transport, telecommunications, as well as the government and NGO sector.

Florian founded and leads the Center for the Long View (CLV), which is Deloitte’s global center of excellence for scenario planning with teams in Frankfurt, Toronto and Shanghai. The Center pushes the boundaries of current strategy development by applying Artificial Intelligence tools and by emphasizing the holistic nature of qualitative analysis. Florian is also the Service Offering Leader for Corporate and Business Unit Strategy at Monitor Deloitte Germany, and forms part of Deloitte’s international Brexit Task Force.

Florian holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Economics from the London School of Economics, an International MBA from Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, and a Master in Development Studies from the University of Tübingen.

ERIC MATABA

Senior Manager, Civil Aviation Authority

Thursday 3rd October 2019
15:10 – 17:10 RPAS/Drones (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) Developments Global/ SACAA (South African Civil Aviation Authority) Perspective

Biography:

Captain Eric Mataba is an Airline Pilot by profession. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot Licence ( FAA, ICAO, RSA), Remote Pilot Licence (RPL), Flight Instructor and is type – rated on various big jets and many other mid-range and small aircraft.

Captain Mataba has amassed vast experience in various fields in aviation especially flight operations. He has flown the various types of aircraft for the likes of Indian Airlines, Olympic Airways, Air Zimbabwe, Uganda Airlines, SA Airlink and Nationwide Airlines. He was also a Senior Captain for 10 years, flying both domestic and long-haul routes. To this day he has logged 14 000 hours of flying. He rose through the ranks and later became General Manager at Airlink.

Captain Mataba also has vast aviation administration experience, having spent the last 10 years at the South African Civic Aviation Authority (SACAA). He joined the SACAA as Flight Operations Inspector, and then rose through the ranks to become Manager Part 121, Manager Testing Standards and he is now a Senior Manager responsible for Flight Operations.

Captain Mataba is part of an International Work Group on Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) which is part of the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking of Unmanned Systems (JARUS). He also conducts Designated Flight Examiner oversight on various airlines.

NARIT GESSLER

Director of Development, Free the Slaves

Thursday 3rd October 2019
17:20 – 18:20 Modern slavery and its impact on the supply chain

Biography:

Narit Gessler is responsible for overseeing all development functions at Free the Slaves, an anti-slavery and anti-human trafficking nonprofit headquartered in Washington D.C. Over the past decade, Narit has dedicated her time to advancing the human condition through rights based nonprofit organizations. She started her career working within the disability community before shifting her attention to socio-economic services. Prior to joining Free the Slaves, Narit focused her energy on global NGO capacity building, which took her from a food security program in rural South Africa to an anti-human trafficking organization in northern Thailand. Narit holds dual Master’s degrees in International Policy and Business Administration from Monterey Institute of International Studies. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, trying new foods and traversing the world. Narit also serves on the Board of Directors for the Pink Pack Project, a girls’ education and empowerment project recently established in Johannesburg, South Africa.

FRAZER HUNT

Transport and Logistics Lawyer

Thursday 3rd October 2019
17:20 – 18:20 Modern slavery acts: Your legal obligations and how they affect your business

Biography:

As one of Australia’s leading transport lawyers, Frazer has advised some of Australia’s largest logistics and freight providers for more than 30 years and has a deep understanding of the issues that affect this industry sector. He handles transport and insurance claims and assists forwarders to implement solutions, including terms and conditions of carriage and negotiating the most favourable terms for distribution and warehousing agreements. He has also advised and presented on compliance issues, including chain of responsibility and modern slavery.  Frazer has been named as an expert transport and logistics lawyer in the 2019 editions of Who’s Who Legal Transport, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, The Best Lawyers in Australia and Chambers Asia Pacific.

KATIE MODRAU

Country Manager, The A21 Campaign

Speaking on:
Thursday 3rd October 2019
13:00 – 17:00 Modern Slavery: The human factor

Biography:

Katie Modrau is the Country Manager of global anti trafficking NGO, The A21 Campaign. A wife, mom of two and a passionate freedom fighter, human trafficking became a focus in her life in July 2009 when she heard about it for the first time and knew that her passion for justice could be channeled in this field. As a result, she interned with The A21 Campaign to learn as much as she could. She has been on the A21 team since 2010 and South African Country Manager since 2012. In addition to seeing this injustice abolished in our lifetime she is fiercely passionate about strategic collaboration and partnership, naming this as an essential key in abolishing slavery, everywhere, forever.

CLAIRE BEASTALL

Training and Capacity Building Coordinator, TRAFFIC

Friday 4th October 2019
08:15 – 09:30 TRAFFIC – FIATA digital course: “The prevention of wildlife traffiicking”

Biography:

Originally from the UK, Claire has been based in Southeast Asia since 1996, but has been working with wildlife and on wildlife-related issues for much longer.  She holds degrees in zoology and captive vertebrate management.  Over the last decade, she has been working at TRAFFIC (the wildlife trade monitoring network) in Southeast Asia.  As Training and Capacity Building Coordinator, she has developed and delivered training and resource materials on the wildlife trade for a very varied audience.  Over recent years, a major focus of her work has been to support the transport and logistics sector in keeping legal supply chains free of illegal wildlife.

DIMITRIOS POLITOPOULOS

Project Client Relations Coordinator WCO Academy, World Customs Organisation (WCO)

Friday 4th October 2019
08:15 – 09:30 Digital marketing masterclass: The example of WCO Academy

Biography:

Dimitris Politopoulos is responsible for the Sales and Marketing Strategy of WCO Academy, the World Customs Organization’s e-learning portal for the Private Sector.

His Academic qualifications include a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with emphasis in Marketing from California Lutheran University in USA and an undergraduate university degree in Agricultural Economy and Agricultural Business Administration from Democritus University of Thrace in Greece.

Throughout his career, Dimitris has always been committed towards determining and fulfilling Business, Sales and Marketing goals for various companies, which are active mainly at the world of trade.

Dimitris also co-founded 776 Deluxe Foods S.A. – an AEO certified company that produces and exports Greek Artisanal foods to countries around the world.

MONICA ZAVAGLI

Senior Project Officer, TRAFFIC

Friday 4th October 2019
08:15 – 09:30 TRAFFIC – FIATA digital course: “The prevention of wildlife trafficking”

Biography:

Monica works as Senior Project Officer at TRAFFIC, for which she has been coordinating the implementation of the Asia component of the multimillion USAID funded Project – Wildlife Trafficking, Response, Assessment and Priority Setting (Wildlife TRAPS), to tackle wildlife crime between Africa and Asia.

Since 2015 she’s been closely collaborating with FIATA providing advice and technical assistance to build freight forwarding capacity in the prevention, detection and reporting of wildlife trafficking.

Monica has over 12 years of international experience in the field of sustainable development and wildlife trade, with expertise in partnership development across governments, private sector and civil society working in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and, in the past eight years, Southeast Asia.

WILLEM CILLIERS

Director, Competency Worx

Friday 4th October 2019
09:35 – 10:35 Changes of vocational training in the digital era

Biography:

Willem Cilliers has 30 years of experience in the field of supply chain management and business development. His has a combination of experience ranging from academic research & development, training, industry experience, consulting, and technology development & implementation. His area of specialisation is strategic supply chain design, aligning supply chain strategies to corporate strategy, developing growth strategies, business cases and structuring. This includes the functional alignment between marketing, logistics, manufacturing and procurement, but also between strategic, tactical and operational levels.

Willem was involved at the University of Pretoria where he lectured to MBA students and managed the Centre for Supply Chain Management. During this time, his focus included research with various local and international publications, and the development of training programs for various top companies. Bridging the gap between academic development and practical implementation, he went to Sappi Fine Papers as Logistics Director where he was responsible for the implementation of the total restructuring of the supply chain. This included segmentation of markets, the establishment of a centralised planning team and the centralisation and outsourcing of outbound distribution. Willem’s consulting experience includes various industries ranging from Paper, Furniture, Distribution, Automotive, Oil & Gas, FMCG and Financial Services. These industries include amongst other companies such as Distell, Sappi, Standard Bank, Total and Nissan. From an entrepreneurial perspective, he left corporate career years ago to pursue his own interests as entrepreneur.

Willem is involved in various investments and business development initiatives in the supply chain management, information technology, business solutions development and property development. Willem has a BCom (Hons) and MBA Cum Laude from the University of Pretoria and a PHD from University of Stellenbosch.

BARRY VORSTER

Partner, PwC South Africa

Friday 4th October 2019
09:35 – 10:35 Challenges brought by the 4th Industrial Revolution: The PwC perspective

Biography:

Mr Vorster is the human resources expert in PwC, he helps organizations within the ambit of human resources, HR consulting, organizational culture, HR technology, learning & development and the future of work. Mr Vorster has 27 years’ experience at organizations like PwC and IBM, building complex solutions at the intersection between technology and people.

Mr Vorster will introduce the report released by PwC “Workforce of the future – The competing forces shaping 2030” and discuss how the future need of workforce will change with fast development of technology, and how the freight forwarding and logistics industry should react to it.

MARTYN DAVIES

Managing Director, Emerging Markets & Africa, Deloitte

Friday 4th October 2019
11:00 – 13:00 Opportunities between South Africa and Europe: A view on the trade relations between the two countries

Biography:

Dr Martyn Davies is a Partner and Managing Director of Emerging Markets & Africa at Deloitte. He heads Deloitte Africa’s Automotive Sector business as well leading Japan Services Group and China Services Group for the Firm. He is a member of the Deloitte global Firm’s Insight Advisory Group as well as the Deloitte Economics team.

Prior to joining Deloitte, Martyn founded Frontier Advisory, a strategy and corporate finance advisory firm that was subsequently acquired by Deloitte. Over his career, he has been a trusted advisor to executives at a large array of multinational firms on their market entry and engagement strategies in emerging markets and Africa. He has also conducted a large amount of advisory work on behalf of the public sector having advised a number of governments in numerous regions.

Martyn has previously been ranked the # 1 analyst in South Africa in the “African Economies & Markets” category as awarded by the Financial Mail in its prestigious Annual Analysts of the Year awards. He is a Senior Fellow at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth – a group comprising leading international economists which works on subjects relating to macro-economics and inclusive growth.

Martyn has been selected as a Young Global Leader, an honour bestowed by the World Economic Forum each year to recognise the most distinguished young leaders nominated below the age of 40 from around the world and has served in various advisory capacities at the WEF, including having chaired a session on Africa at the Forum’s annual meeting at Davos.

TONIS HINTSOV

Chairman of the Board, Estonian Supply Chain Association PROLOG

Friday 4th October 2019
11:00 – 13:00 Single Window initiative in Estonia and country report

Biography:

Tõnis Hintsov is the logistics and supply chain expert (since 1993 in logistics business), having forwarding experience from Schenker more than 14 years. PROLOG – Estonian Supply Chain Association is the Estonian Supply Chain competence center connecting supply chain professionals and supporting companies to increase competitiveness through better supply chain management.

Estonian Single Window Cluster connects governmental structures, logistics service providers, cargo owners and universities. Cluster works on logistics and supply chain digitalization, focusing mainly on digital transport documents issues.

EVGENIYA KHOKHLOVA

Regional winner for Region Europe in the Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award 2019

Friday 4th October 2019
11:00 – 13:00 Forwarding of oversized and overweight cargoes (Dissertation for the Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award 2019)

Biography:

Evgeniya Khokhlova is a 27 year old from Moscow, Russia. She works as freight forwarder in JSC “SVH-FREIGHT” in the department of project logistics. Evgeniya is the regional winner for Region Europe in the Young International Freight Forwarder of the year 2019.

NICOLETTE VAN DER JAGT

Director General, CLECAT – European Association for Forwarding, Transport, Logistics and Customs Services

Friday 4th October 2019
11:00 – 13:00 Update on EU policy: Annual update on the EU policies that have a direct impact on the EU trade, market, transport and EU freight forwarders

Biography:

Nicolette van der Jagt is the Director-General of CLECAT, the European organization of Logistics Service Providers and Freight Forwarders, since 2012. CLECAT is a Brussels based association with a collective membership of more than 19.000 companies in freight forwarding, logistics and customs services through its 24 national associations. Previously, Nicolette was for 10 years Secretary General of the Brussels based European Shippers’ Council representing the national and international freight interest of industry – national shippers’ councils from around Europe. Through this experience she has extensive knowledge of freight transport in all modes in transport.  Nicolette holds degrees in international relations and European studies from the Universities of Utrecht (NL) and Strasbourg (FR).

JOHN EDWIN MEIN

Executive Coordinator, PROCOMEX

Friday 4th October 2019
11:00 – 13:00 AEO Regional Agreement, Sao Paulo

Biography:

John Edwin Mein is a Brazilian, born in Recife Brazil. After receiving his Masters in International Business from Thunderbird, in Arizona, he worked in the International area of a US Bank, in business promotion for the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil, and in business development for American and Brazilian companies. He was president of the American Chamber in Brazil for 13 years, during which it became the largest American Chamber outside the US.

John Edwin Mein led the efforts to organize and is the Executive Coordinator of the Alliance for Modernization of Logistics and Foreign Trade – PROCOMEX. The PROCOMEX Alliance is a coalition of over 84 business associations with the common objective of increasing the country’s competitiveness by modernizing Brazilian customs processes. The operational arm of the coalition is the Instituto Aliança Procomex that is maintained by over 40 companies.

Procomex is a member and John is the present Chair of the Private Sector Consultative Group and the Co-chair of the SAFE Working Group of the World Customs Organization.

RACHAEL VAN HARMELEN

Unit Sales Manger, Panalpina

Friday 4th October 2019
11:00 – 13:00 The power of finding the best solution, on a large or small scale

Biography:

Rachael van Harmelen graduated from the University of Toronto in 2009 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in International Studies. She worked as a Senior Associate in Sales at Standard Life for four years developing a solid background in the insurance industry. She moved to Paris, France to learn French and work for a startup company, where she developed her interest in the supply chain industry. She came back to Toronto to complete her FITT diploma at Seneca College, which led to her inside sales role at Panalpina. After 1.5 years, she’s moved on to Business Unit Sales Manager, which is her current position. She specialised in the Trans-Pacific trade lane.

Following her win in the Americas Regional competition of the Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award, Rachael will represent Canada at the 2019 FIATA World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.

OLIVER PELTZER

Partner and Head Practice Group Transport, Aviation, Logistics, and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Vice Chairman Customs and Trade Facilitation, Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein and International Chamber of Commerce

Friday 4th October 2019
14:00 – 15:30 Sustainable freight transport through connectivity in customs and trade

Biography:

Oliver Peltzer advises companies in the energy, maritime and transport industries and advises on the purchase and sale of companies and projects in the offshore, maritime, transport and aviation industries. Oliver Peltzer is regularly asked to act as arbitrator. Before joining Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein, he worked for several years as a consultant to the venture capital industry and as head of the legal and risk management department at Volkswagen Logistics GmbH & Co. OHG. Oliver Peltzer is Vice Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Customs and Trade Facilitation Commission.

BEYERS THERON

Acing Chief Officer: Customs and Excise

Friday 4th October 2019
14:00 – 15:30 Connectivity in customs and trade

Biography:

Beyers Theron was appointed Acting Chief Officer: Customs and Excise in July 2018. He brings with him a strong background in operational experience, having spent 35 years in the Customs division of the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

He started his career as a Customs officer in the then Department of Finance in 1983, followed by a lengthy tenure in Customs training. In the late 1990s, Beyers was chosen to play a leading role in the Customs Transformation Programme, which became a SARS-wide programme called Siyakha. He was tasked with the full organisational restructuring of the Customs component within SARS. Beyers later became Head of Customs Operations at SARS, and oversaw national Customs Operations for several years.

As Executive: Customs Modernisation Strategy and Design, Beyers headed up the Customs Modernisation Programme from 2010 until 2016, implementing a new automated Customs declaration processing system and a cutting-edge inspection process. At the time of his appointment as Acting Chief Officer, Beyers was Executive: Customs and Excise Centre of Excellence, a position which has seen him drive implementation of the New Customs Acts Programme (NCAP).

From a regional perspective, Beyers has played a leading role in establishing Customs’ data exchange and regional accreditation programmes. He has extensive international experience, and has represented SARS on various global and regional bodies and working groups. He also represents SARS on the WCO SACU Connect Programme Steering Committee, and is often consulted for assistance and guidance on Customs Modernisation programmes internationally and within the SACU region.

RICHARD WRIGHT

Renowned speaker, endurance athlete and brain cancer survivor

Friday 4th October 2019
15:40 – 17:00 Where’s the finishline

Biography:

Richard Wright is an inspirational force to be reckoned with. Coupled with his vast experience as a top salesperson and National Training Manager for SA’s premier real estate company, Richard delivers an unforgettable and powerful experience. Oh, and he is really funny and entertaining!

He is an expert on the mind and cognitive thought control as a means to effect change and overcome any challenge or obstacle. Richard has mastered true grit and is a radical optimist.