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Katy Hopkinson, proud winner of BIFA’s Young


Freight Forwarder Award 2020


www.bifa.org


Improving interaction


The Care Advocate scheme is a global KN initiative that focuses on customer service and satisfaction, with the aim of making KN “the best company to work for and the best company to do business with”, according to Katy’s manager, Caroline Howell. “The focus is on customers, colleagues


and the community,” explained Katy – who is herself a Care Advocate. “We raise funds for local charities, for example. “The scheme also brings colleagues


closer together, especially at the bigger branches, because we collaborate with people that we might not normally work with in our day-to-day job. It improves how we interact as a company.”


Katy’s marine dreams lead to logistics award


Katy Hopkinson, the BIFA Young Freight Forwarder Award 2020 winner, impressed the judges with the way she handled developments in her career during a turbulent year. She


continues to go from strength to strength YOUNG FREIGHT


FORWARDER OF THE YEAR AWARD SPONSOR


Katy Hopkinson describes herself humorously as “a bit of a ship nerd”, having long held ambitions to work in the maritime sector. She said: “I joined the Leeds Sea Cadets for


six months and ended up staying for five years. We had the opportunity to go on aircraft carriers and other warships, and I just fell in love with everything nautical. “Originally, I wanted a career as a Royal Navy


officer in the Logistics Branch, which meant I needed a degree. So I went to university to study Maritime Business and Management. The course opened my eyes to the wider world of logistics. There is more going on, more avenues and more opportunities in commercial logistics compared with the very specialised Royal Navy Logistics Branch.” That broader perspective, combined with the realisation that a life at sea and away from


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Virgin Atlantic Cargo is proud to sponsor BIFA’s ‘Young Freight Forwarder Award’ to recognise and encourage the next generation of industry leaders. As well as rewarding the progress of the best young people, this award helps to highlight the vital role freight forwarders play in the growth and development of our industry.


leadership daunting at first, she has settled in to the role despite the additional demands of the COVID-19 pandemic. “In December 2019 I recruited a brand new


team,” she said. “It was exciting for me to learn how to manage people, and it was a big learning curve. At first it involved a lot of travel, with face-to-face support and meetings – the new recruits were in Liverpool and Birmingham while I was in Dartford – but when the pandemic started that was all instantly cut off, and we had to train the team remotely.” While this was a challenge, Katy said: “We


might actually be closer to our operational branches in a way now. Previously we had to book dedicated trips to visit them, but now we can all be available at any time remotely.”


Collaboration Having completed her CILT Level 5 Diploma, Katy is now focusing on the ILM Licence to Lead qualification, which she is due to finish in November 2021. She observed: “It has been eye-opening to


family was not for her, led Katy to change tack and apply for a place on a graduate scheme at Kuehne+Nagel (KN). Five years on, she now holds the position of national sea logistics systems and processes manager at KN. Katy was keen to take on a management role


– and when a team restructuring in 2019 offered her the opportunity to do so, she took it with open arms. Although she found the prospect of


apply the theory to the realities of managing a team. I am the first to admit I do not know everything; it is impossible to know everything in this industry. But one of the things that was drummed into me early on was the importance of networking in freight. If you have a team around you that you can approach for help, then you will succeed. “Being able to find the answer to a problem,


even if you do not know it yourself, is what builds trust,” she added. That collaborative approach, alongside her


hard work and perseverance, has enabled Katy to thrive at KN – where, naturally, she intends to stay focused primarily on seafreight.


March 2021


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