Key industry players attend the LOG.LEO Awards to recognise the best of the logistics and supply chain industry
When Kathryn Semcow, Editor of LOG.Middle East, handed Brian Shepherd the envelope to announce the winner of the LOG.LEO Lifetime Achievement Award, he had no idea it was his name that was inside. This was a surprise twist in the ceremony, considering several VIP audience members had already announced winners of other categories, with no one expecting a winner to announce himself. A few tears filled Shepherd’s eyes as he read out his own name. “I would like to express my sincere thanks to you and the committee for the wonderful honour bestowed on me today,” he said later on. “I am most humbled by the gesture and will forever remember this day.”
Shepherd has been working in the logistics industry since 1972, holding key positions in South Africa for companies such as Nestle South Africa, South Africa Breweries, the Foshini Group and Shoprite. He also served National Council of the Institute of Materials Management in South Africa for ten years and held the office of National Chairman for two of those years.
In 1998, he left South Africa to join the Alshaya Group in Kuwait as Head of Logistics. “The group had 169 stores in six countries at the time and by the time I was headhunted by the Al Tayer Group, I left a company with almost 500 stores in eight countries,” he recalls. Shepherd was also instrumental in setting up the supply chain for Starbucks in the Middle East. Read More ...
In 2003, Shepherd joined Al Tayer and has helped grow its logistics division from its beginnings into a major player in the region. He recently announced that he will be retiring from the company within the next year.
Another surprise of the day was the fact that Shepherd had moments before been passed over for the LOG.LEO Supply Chain Manager of the Year, which went to Tom Nauwelaerts Head of Logistics for the Al Futtaim Group. “While Tom has achieved a great deal this year in terms of turning around his organisation, Brian has a lifetime of achievements,” explained Semcow. “Many people were likely shocked when Brian did not receive the Supply Chain Manager of the Year Award, but we felt it more fitting to award him with the Lifetime Achievement Award.”
The Second Annual LOG.LEO Awards, which took place on March 31 at the Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates in Dubai also saw the announcement of the winners of the LOG.LEO Young Achiever, Innovator and Sustainability Champion of the Year.
Kamel El-Ghossaini, Senior Manager – Supply Chain Solutions, Span, took home the LOG.LEO Young Achiever of the Year award. El-Ghosseini has helped develop the IT arm of the Span Group, which in turn has helped advance expertise in the region as a whole. More than a dozen members of Span cheered him on at their own private table.
Ram Menen, Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, Emirates, was the winner of the LOG.LEO Innovator of the Year Award. Menen is credited with not only developing Emirates SkyCargo from its beginnings but also helping to develop aircraft such as the Boeing 777F and the Airbus A380 and inventing the LD36 container. He has received a great deal of recognition within the industry, but never for his innovations.
Finally, Samir Sajet, Regional Aviation Safety Officer with the United Nations/World Food Programme- Humanitarian Air Services. Semcow also paid tribute to Wilfredo Plona with UPS, who is consistently raising funds to help people in need, from a young boy in need of a bone marrow transplant to Haiti earthquake victims; as well as Hussein Hachem, the CEO for Aramex in the GCC, which has one of the region’s strongest corporate sustainability portfolios. “This is a category in which all the nominees are certainly winners,” she said.
Publisher Tewe Pannier served as the Master of Ceremonies and Managing Director Jason Verhoven thanked sponsors and guests before opening the gourmet Mediterranean buffet. The Acting German Consul General Joerg Herrera attended the event, sitting with LOG.LEO Jury members Dave Harris with the Dubai Department of Economic Development, Mauricio Zuazua with A.T. Kearney and Cedwyn Fernandes with Middlesex University.
Also in attendance were the participants of the LOG.LEO Strategies for Success Seminar taking place on the same day at the Kempinski. Approximately 50 delegates participated in the conference, which focused on Kaizen inventory management, Six Sigma business practices, developing value propositions and managing staff. Participants left enthusiastic about the day, having taken back new information learned at the seminar and new contacts made at the awards.
