Your five years as Director Cargo saw a marked transformation of the business. But when you first arrived, what were your immediate thoughts and priorities? 

I felt that there were a few things we weren’t doing with all the energy and application that  we could have shown. We had a committed team of individuals, but an unmet opportunity around creating a brand to raise our profile and generate a better share of our customers’ spend, and which would allow us to build deeper connections with existing and new customers.

There were also huge volumes of paper, being generated by our operations, and it took too long to turn around day-to-day business decisions. As a result, there were big opportunities for efficiency gains using automation and digitalisation. Thirdly, I felt there was a need for a coherent strategy to leverage our strong service and operational reputation and enhance our operational excellence and differentiation with a specialist range of customer solutions. 

Looking back, what are some of the highlights for you?

I would include the metrics-based approach we’ve built over the past few years, that allows  us to plan around trends and tackle challenges as they emerge. The overall adoption of metrics, data and dashboards to drive our decisions has been a big change from the past. In terms of results, the steady  improvement in our customer net promoter score, alongside our employee net promotor scores, has been satisfying. It reflects our belief that engaged employees lead to happier customers which, in turn, has underpinned a lot of Cathay Cargo’s financial success.

Another area was building up our brand. Now when we say “We Know How” as a brand, it means we can deliver over and above customer expectations – and the growth in our brand awareness in many markets and the belief of our people behind this brand statement has been really encouraging.

The market was eventful during your tenure. What are your reflections?

You always need to be adaptable, but the COVID times taught us that we needed to be even quicker to make decisions on fleet deployment, network management and where the sales teams should focus. That spirit of agility still lives on and has been incorporated into all our decision making processes today.

It has also been encouraging to see the continuation of the e-commerce phenomenon, which has enabled us to sustain relatively strong loads on our freighters and to support the passenger network expansion. The overall business is in much better shape now than it was before COVID in terms of yields. That reflects the market, but also the focus on our evolving strategy.

Do you think the pandemic strengthened Cathay Cargo’s importance to the Cathay Group?  

Yes. But awareness of Cathay Cargo as a business has always been strong, given Cathay Pacific’s origins as a cargo carrier. The pandemic raised the profile but didn’t alter the Group's longer-term approach to the cargo business. For example, when making the business case for the next-generation Airbus A350F freighters, we stripped out the positive COVID effect on performance – you can’t rely on pandemics as a future indicator of success! The decision to order the new freighters reflected our need to operate at a scale required to remain relevant to our customers, under “normal” market conditions and over an extended time period. It showed clearly that a substantial freighter and passenger aircraft cargo-belly network operating out of the busiest international air cargo hub in the world, with seamless access to the huge markets of China and the Greater Bay Area, and with a strong market share, is a winning long-term and sustainable business model.

The other big thing in your time has been digitalisation.  

Some of our most visible successes so far have included removing paper from many processes and introducing new innovations showcasing our IATA ONE Record capability. We’ve launched a number of new apps for both customers and our people to improve speed and efficiency. And we are continuing to develop our cargo digital hub, a website  that will be the single source of information and customer transactions in the years to come.

Is there a chance that digitalisation will take away some of the relationship side of air cargo?  

No. As a B2B business, the relationship with freight forwarders is absolutely key. This won't change. What we’re trying to do instead is make those relationships more efficient. That won’t take away any emphasis from face-to-face relationships. In fact, we’d like to build on those and talk to more cargo forwarders – there are plenty of new shippers and their agents, especially outside of our home markets, that we would like to work with. 

What are some of the moments you look back on with the most pride?  

Cathay Cargo hosting the IATA World Cargo Symposium and having all the industry leaders here in Hong Kong was a great thing. Winning the ATW Cargo Operator of the Year award twice in three years was a great achievement. Then there was the public recognition of what we do every day, like the carriage of live animals. Flying in pandas to Hong Kong for instance caused a lot of local excitement. The very hot night in a hangar with one of our 747-8 Freighters, when we introduced the market to our new brand, was also a highlight!

What will you miss most?  

Cargo is a very real-time business reflecting the changes in our world’s economic health, so I’ll miss that cut and thrust and the unpredictability of the results. And I will obviously miss our wonderful teams. They are amazingly strong across both the commercial and operational areas, and there are now a lot of new and enthusiastic people to carry the brand forward to our customers. I’ll also miss our vision and momentum. It always felt as if we were breaking through barriers and taking a leading position in many areas of the air-cargo industry.

What’s your parting message to customers?  

Firstly, thank you for your continuing support. We know you have many options to move your cargo and we don’t treat your choice of using us lightly. Cathay Cargo’s focus will continue to demonstrate that we can carry whatever cargo you have across our strong network safely and efficiently. We will meet your demands over the years ahead with specialised solutions tailored to your requirements and backed by a well-trained group of people with values to support the can do, progressive and thoughtful approach you have told us that you admire. We will be here for you, day in, day out, to make sure that your trust in us is never questioned.

Where are you headed, and what is your new role?  

I’m moving to HAECO, the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company, which is also a member of the Swire Group. It provides a diverse range of solutions for the maintenance, repair and overhaul needs of many airlines around the world. My role as Group Director Corporate Development will cover new business opportunities, digital transformation and IT development, sustainability, and strategic project development.