Strategic management restructuring in North America
Mike Schaefer, Soeren Thode and Silvia Poralo in new positions at a. hartrodt in New York.
From August 1, 2023, Soeren Thode will lead a. hartrodt USA as President/CEO with headquarters in New York and 50 employees at five locations. The 47-year-old completed his freight forwarding apprenticeship in the family business and has been working in the USA for 18 years, most recently as New York Branch Manager. As part of a restructuring, he is relieving Mike Schaefer, who is taking on other responsibilities as Regional Director North America. "Mike laid the foundation for growth, and I'm continuing that with a focus on sales," Soeren Thode says. Branch Manager of the 22-person New York office will be Silvia Poralo, who was previously Country Manager of a. hartrodt Romania.
Global trade flows are reorganizing – North America benefits
Based in New York, Mike Schaefer will implement the Management Holding's strategy in the U.S. and Canada, where are 60 employees combined. His responsibilities will include the implementation of global safety standards and regional sales. He is predestined for the position with 38 years of company service, including more than two decades as head of the business in the USA. "At the moment, global trade flows are reorganizing, and North America benefits from this," he says.
New office in Atlanta as consolidation hub for air freight
As part of the expansion course, a. hartrodt USA opened an office in Atlanta (Georgia) on July 1, 2023, which is headed by Trisha Jensen. "We are building a consolidation hub for air freight and have special expertise on site, also for automotive," explains Mike Schaefer. German companies such as Volkswagen in Chatanooga (Tennessee) and BMW in Spartanburg (South Carolina) produce in the catchment area. "By October, our Atlanta team is scheduled to grow to up to six people," he announces. In addition, the national company is preparing for the introduction of new processes of the CargoWise One (CW1) supply chain platform at the turn of the year.
Mike Schaefer is supervising regional standards for the CW1 rollout in North America. In the U.S., "very tight rules" would have to be taken into account. In addition, further offices are planned – in Vancouver (Canada) by mid-2024 and on the US Gulf Coast over the next year and a half.