Lionel
van der Walt, a South African who has been part of IATA
for the past decade (mostly on the passenger side),
went into the spotlight and took center stage as IATA
Cargo Network Services (CNS) President and Host of the
Partnership Conference in Nashville.
Lionel came on with a
big smile and, if you look a bit closer, a steely determination,
no doubt honed by time spent looking at a lot of airplanes
in the air; once upon a time, Lionel was an air traffic
controller and an airline guy at South African Airways.
He immediately made it
clear that he has a plan, a program, and is ready to
listen.
Pre-judging this guy may
be a mistake, as in the case of this year’s Partnership
he was only named to his post mid-way through the cycle,
after the venue had been already determined.
But from first blush Lionel
seems passionate about the job and also the challenge.
“I’m totally
committed to making this presidency work for the air
cargo business and its people.
“Much of my time
to date has been out listening to the industry to get
the feel of what is expected and where we need to move
to be effective.
“I’m impressed
by how friendly the atmosphere is here; the gathering
is quite personal in nature and so much more than just
a series of business meetings.”
CNS comprises people that
have worked together for years—a tight-knit community.
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But overall the message
from Lionel is that changes are coming.
“What concerns me
looking at CNS attendance is that we have a problem
in bringing in new people, especially the younger generation,
and that is something that many of us agree should be
addressed.”
“Gender diversity
is another focal point.
“We need to diversify
our teams,” Lionel said.
“Another point is
that we need to make sure that we have balanced representation
from all groups at all future CNS panels and meetings.
“Of course, all
of this is easier said than done, because currently
we lack the aforementioned balance, but we are determined
to go out and identify key people in our industry who
can come in, participate, and become part of us,”
Lionel van der Walt said.
Now is the time for getting
tomorrow’s plans into action, a task that has
never been easy for the unusually large number of past
CNS presidents, which number four in the last decade
alone after CNS founding father Tony Calabrese’s
reign of 18 years (out of the group’s 26 years
total).
Call this era the “Lionel
Track” or “Get On Board The Lionel Train;”
air cargo around the world has always benefitted from
a strong, diverse, and interesting CNS.
More power to them, we
say.
The next CNS Partnership
is set for April 30 –May 2, 2017 at the JW Marriott
Orlando. Stay tuned . . .
Geoffrey
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