Jansen, how are you looking forward to taking over from Ray?
J: The monumental task is taking over from someone who has been at Cathay Pacific for 35 years, 18 years in this role. He is described by colleagues as the “godfather of cargo”. That is pretty daunting. What I’m looking forward to is that this is such a diverse role. There’s a lot to it with a lot of in-depth information you need to know – it’s not just management, it’s visionary, it’s strategic, and set against a backdrop of the company moving into a new era of digitisation. What Ray is leaving me not only works, it is outstanding. So it is a challenge, but I’m up for it.
What is the one thing you would want to know from Ray on day one?
J: Well, the man’s well connected, so my first question for him is: who are the people I need to know in Europe from a customer and business perspective? That’s one thing I need to get from him.
Ray, what is the one thing you would tell Jansen?
R: Well to make sure that that the numbers are in place, of course! No, the first thing that I’d tell Jansen is that he is taking over a fantastic team, which has very strong relationships with our very professional customers in Europe, built up over many years of working together. Make use of the experience of the team and these good customer partnerships, and never feel embarrassed about asking for advice. They will be happy to help. I’m actually envious of you in many ways, because I think you will really enjoy it. There are challenges, ups and downs but it will be a great ride.
Looking back on your 18 years in Europe, Ray, what are you most proud of?
R: I’m clearly proud of the yield and load factors we have been able to achieve over many, many years, through our quality service and special product offering to our customers, even in periods of weak demand. Our challenges are numerous, so the results we have achieved as a region is something the team can be very proud of. The second thing is the teamwork. It’s like a well-oiled machine. It’s not always been easy because we have a lot of strong personalities, but I’ve got them to work together and not be defensive about anything. When I started there had been no one in my role, so people were naturally competing against each other. Now these guys have become friends and supportive of each other. And that is important because they are based close to each other and you could get into cross-border selling so quickly. A lot of the freighter flights are tagged with another country anyway, so there has to be cooperation.
J: They are a really strong unit.
You are no stranger to Europe, Jansen. What is your role been there?
J: I have been based in Madrid since August 2016 as Country Manager Spain. It’s a new country on the Cathay network and we started with four flights to Madrid a week. Since I’ve been there, we have been working hard on both the commercial and cargo side, and now we have five flights to Madrid and four to Barcelona. I am sure Ray would have seen the potential in Barcelona, particularly for pharma, perishables and auto parts. Arriving in a country that is starting up is interesting. The passenger side was always going to do well, but you could see the cargo potential and it was fun rolling up my sleeves and getting into that business, which is where we’re making the cream now.