Special jubilee: 50 years of professional life at a. hartrodt in Australia

Instead of retiring after a fulfilling professional life at a. hartrodt Australia, Ester Cary is driving digitalization forward. The 69-year-old has been a full-time member of the global roll-out team for the CargoWise One (CW1) supply chain platform since 2021, responsible for the CW1 Global Tariff & Rates Workstream division, and celebrated 50 years of service in Melbourne at the end of February. "I was always interested in computers and how they function, I like to learn new things," she says. She will retire only when the roll-out in Australia/New Zealand is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024.

Career steps up to Key Account Manager

With extraordinary motivation, loyalty and knowledge, Cary has contributed to the growth of a. hartrodt since 1974. Her career steps included 2005 promotions to Customer Service Manager and 2017 to Key Account Manager. She has "always felt like a family". She cites her adaptability as an important quality, "to make the most of the changes and look to the positive impacts of any innovation".

Personal relationship with the owner family

Only few employees can look back on five decades at a. hartrodt, Cary is the first outside Germany. Her personal relationship with the owner family is also unique. From 2014 to 2018, she worked with the current Managing Partner Felix Wenzel on site in Australia for four years: "At that time, I was the only person in the Melbourne office who had met his grandfather Konrad Wenzel." Andreas Wenzel came to the inauguration of the new location in 2004. "When I returned from lunch, he was waiting in my office to say goodbye before his flight home," she recalls a special moment.

Cary is looking forward to Felix Wenzel traveling to Melbourne soon to congratulate her on her life's work and bid her farewell after a successful CW1 roll-out. After that, she plans to travel with her husband and visit special business contacts abroad: "I already have invitations".