#05: Tim Wickmann former CEO of MCC Maersk

#05: Tim Wickmann former CEO of MCC Maersk Featured Image

How MCC became a market leader in shipping – an Intra-Asia success story with Tim Wickmann former CEO of MCC Maersk

Tim Wickmann has 27 years career with A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. He served as vice-president in various portfolios for 10 years. In the last 9 years, he was the CEO of MCC, the intra-Asia shipping specialist. During his term, the company became one of the most successful organizations in the history, from humble beginnings, maybe to the 17th largest line of the company in the world in terms of capacity, among top three feeders globally, operated 90 ships, and had over 600 staff in local agencies in 14 countries across Asia

Listen to the full discussion here:

Part 1 – Industry Trends – [41:35]

 

 

Part 2 – Talent and Recruitment in Supply Chain and Logistics – [18:33]

 

 

Part 3 – Personal success stories and habits – [18:10]

 

Connect with the Guest:

Tim Wickmann: Linkedin  

Stay tuned as we cover:

  • How to build the number one shipping company in your industry from scratch
  • On giving full independence to country managers – ‘Do anything you want as long as it is legal!’
  • On being happy at work – “For 27 years, I have looked forward to going to work every single day. You need to be happy at work. Otherwise, it doesn’t work.”
  • On superstitions and playing professional football. And how to handle 9 customer meetings in one day. 
  • How to react when your eyes stop working because of overwork and how to handle weeks of 13 hour workdays.
  • Why you should say No! to seemingly great opportunities.

Show notes:

Part 1 – Industry Trends:

  • [01:13] How did you start from early beginnings to when you left off?  And maybe if you can derive two or three key learnings in terms of your success story.
  • [06:05] On giving full independence to the country managers – You can do anything as long as it is legal.
  • [08:30] Phase 1 was called explosive growth – you need to build a strong base.
  • [14:50]  How do you react when the global CEO tells you – “You get five years and nobody will interfere or tell you what to do. “
  • [17:29]  Do you think the trend of carrier consolidation will go on?
  • [24:31] How will Blockchain affect and change the shipping value chain and what it needs to happen for it to change the shipping industry.
  • [32:30] With the strong increase in volumes and stagnant freight rates, who do you think will be the winners in the intra-Asian container trade?
  • [35:07] What are the technologies that would really have the most impact on shipping in the next years?
  • [38:45] If you would be an investor, which shipping-related startup would you invest in?

Part 2 – Talent and Recruitment:

  • [00:03]  How did you attract the top talent in Maersk and MCC.  What did you do to get top talent in MCC?
  • [01:46]  For 27 years, I have looked forward to going to work every single day. You need to be happy at work. Otherwise, it doesn’t work.
  • [04:48]  I don’t think we could run a company successful and be as successful as we’ve been in eight years if the people were not energized and motivated, and outright happy.
  • [09:03] My door is open for anyone at any level and, therefore, they need to know me also and they need to say hello to me.
  • [12:01]  As a leader when and how did you decide on company culture updates.  When did the company culture need an update or a tweak and how did you do it?
  • [12:25] On culture and setting performance KPIs – Nobody is above the spirit of the company.
  • [15:43] How would you win against your competitors to attract the top talent in the market?
  • [16:33] Four or five years ago when we were 400 people, I knew the name of every single person in MCC, every single person in each country.

Part 3 – Personal success stories and habits:

  • [00:04] So you’ve had many roles, Tim. You’ve had a very clear development all the way to the top.  What’s the main driver and wish for the next step? More risk, more fun?
  • [03:05] Did you follow any, you know, as a CEO, did you follow any morning routine?
  • [03:37] On superstitions and playing professional football. And how to handle 9 customer meetings in one day. 
  • [06:01] What is something that you believe in that other people think is crazy?
  • [07:43] I’m not good at accepting people making the same mistake twice
  • [08:56] One of the most challenging experiences that you have faced and how did you fix it?  How did you solve it?
  • [09:20] On being so overworked that your eyes stop working and how to handle weeks of 13-hour workdays.
  • [12:21]  If somebody would ask you if they wanted to be the CEO of a large company, what advice would you give them?  What would you say?
  • [12:44] What does FAIL mean? The first attempt in learning.
  • [14:20] Importance of exposure to HQ, visibility and rejecting opportunities.

About the Host:

The host, Radu Palamariu is the co-author of “From Source to Sold – Stories of Leadership in Supply Chain”. He has been named one of the top 3 Global Supply Chain Influencers on LinkedIn and was featured in ForbesBloombergWEFBangkok Post, and MIT Supply Chain Talent magazine. Radu invites executives to share stories and perspectives around technology, logistics, e-commerce, supply chain, and manufacturing, and their views on how the future will look.

Alcott Global connects and upgrades the supply chain ecosystem by finding the right talent through executive search, developing talent through learning solutions, and meeting supply chain technology needs through a comprehensive crunch base marketplace.

The supply chain executive search has been our focus since the very beginning, offering recruitment services for top-tier supply chain roles at every level of the end-to-end supply chain: plan, source / procure, make, and deliver. Our consultants have years of experience in placing top talent, in North America, LATAM, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and APAC, and besides speed, one of our biggest strengths is our network within the supply chain industry, and we capitalize on it to find the best solutions.

Through the years, we have grown as an organization and our offerings with it. One of our initiatives, the learning solutions- training and supply chain academy, is focused on transforming leadership- self-leadership, executive presence, influence capital, and business acumen. Through Supplify, we aim to match corporations with the top technology companies to solve their supply chain and logistics challenges with a focus on innovation and digital transformation.

We are in constant touch with the leaders in supply chain, inviting them to inspire the supply chain professionals in thought-provoking podcast episodes and events, and showcasing what is possible at the yearly Leaders in Supply Chain Awards.

Related Episodes:

Episode #02: Charles Brewer CEO DHL e-commerce

Episode #03: Paul Bradley CEO Caprica International

Episode #04: Roxane Desmicht Head of Supply Chain at Infineon Technologies

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