Meet your CBFANC Board and Officers

Jack Hubbard, editor


ANSWERS FROM PETER GONG.
How did you get into the logistics business?
Over thirty years ago, I worked as BD for China Ocean Aviation Corporation in Beijing, China. This Chinese Navy owned company operates both a fleet of cargo vessels and cargo flights.
Did you have a mentor who really helped you?
Yes, Mr. Han, the GM of Ocean Shipping Department led me into the world of ocean carriers.  He was former naval attaché to Great Britain, and become a successful self-made merchant fleet operator to manage an international cargo fleet from bulk vessels to oil tankers.
What is the biggest challenge facing the international logistics industry?
I see the challenge comes from the contradiction between the increasing demand of customers’ needs and the combination of increased cost and delayed delivery. The nowadays international trade has stepped into the e-commerce era that customers in multiple forms require much more than old school traditional services from logistics service providers. It’s so hard to cut the transportation cost because of the increasing fuel cost to the carriers and increasing labor wage in the industry. There more and more issues that causes the increased shipping cost and delay of delivery, such as trade wars, infrastructure backwards, port congestion, union workers, and security concerns.
What was your childhood ambition?
Travel around the world to see, to learn, to work, and to help build a flat world.
Briefly, what is your goal as a director or officer of CBFANC?
To explore the whole industry lifestyle, to listen to the members’ needs, and to contribute to the services that member want from the Association.

ANSWERS FROM FELICIA ADDISON

What was your first job?  At sixteen I worked at a clothing store in Eastmont Mall in Oakland, CA.  It was a great way for me to know what I didn’t want to do in my life and that maybe, just maybe the Customer isn’t always right.

How did you get into the logistics business?  One of my childhood friends worked for Customs and mentioned that a company called Graves & Company was hiring as I was in desperate need of employment.  My Mother told me that my goal in life was not going to come to fruition (hanging out in Berkeley with the artists and writing poetry) and that I needed a paying job.  In most cases working for Graves was the knock on the door into the logistics business, so many choices, brokerage, freight forwarding, trucking, etc.

Did you have a mentor who really helped you?  I had several.  Those that come to mind are Monica Oldmen, who was my first employer in brokerage that trained me from A to Z. She taught me that there was nothing out of my grasp if I stayed focused and diligent.    I cannot forget Customs Inspectors Karen Evans and Audrey Haynes.  They were impressive and knowledgeable, not to mention they taught me how to stand up for myself when I first started with Graves & Company because Brokers and Importers can be very scary people.

What is the biggest challenge facing the international logistics industry?  The need to keep stressing how important Customs Brokers are to this business.  With the marriage of CHB to Freight Forwarding we’ve become the “old hag” that they happen to be married to.  The reality is that every time something is made easier to make the process run smooth, the need for a Broker is there to make sure it is done correctly and legally to explain what could or would go wrong.  I think Customs finally realizes this because they rely on our input heavily to apply whatever new idea that they happen to have, especially their ideas that were ours first.  We have a vision and understanding that other entities in the logistics industry simply do not have. 

What is something people might be surprised to know about you?  That I can still recite my alphabet backwards and I am an avid Genealogist.  DNA Research is my favorite right now.

What was your childhood ambition?  First, I wanted to be a gymnast (I loved the bars) but puberty and gravity changed that ambition.  Then it changed to wanting to become a lawyer and travel the world.  I think that last one sort of fits what I do today.  I travel through documents and shipments from all over the world and I figure out how to legally make it happen.

If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be? The South of France, of course!
Briefly, what is your goal as a director or officer of CBFANC?  To learn and share information.  That’s what we do.