The Hong Kong carrier has recruited the Swire Group veteran to lead its global sales teams as part of its strategy to become the world's leading air cargo operator
Cathay Cargo has appointed long-term Swire Shipping employee Toby Griffiths as its new head of cargo global sales and customer solutions.
Griffiths has spent nearly 12 years at Swire Shipping, part of the Swire Group, in a variety of roles and locations. Swire Group, through Swire Pacific Limited, is the major shareholder of Cathay Pacific Airways.
"With nearly 12 years of experience at Swire Shipping, Toby’s background in sales, agency management, and business development will contribute towards our continued progress towards becoming the world's best air cargo carrier," said Cathay Cargo in a LinkedIn post.
Toby’s leadership will empower our global sales teams to build a more comprehensive service and shipping experience for all of our customers, no matter their cargo demands. Welcome on board, Toby!
In a Q+A article published by Cathay Cargo, Griffiths said that during his employment with Swire he spent time initially in Singapore, New Zealand and then Papua New Guinea, where he moved into a customer-facing role.
He then returned to Singapore in 2016 and spent four years in commercial roles, focusing on sales and agency management, and then long-term business development, before moving to the Solomon Islands as country manager. This was followed by two years as country manager in Australia, based in Sydney.
Griffiths noted the parallels between sea and air freight and said that he is looking forward to the challenges and learning curve that the new role will present.
"I like solving problems and I like learning. On the problem-solving side, there are the special shipment solutions; there’s always a customer that needs something new or different, and I feel lucky to be working in an organisation that puts the customer first, and continually commits resources to that prioritisation," said Griffiths.
"On the learning side, there’s a lot: a whole new industry, a new company and a new dynamic. It is fun to be thrown into this new environment and understand how I can turn the learning into value.
"I am also looking forward to the international scope of the role: working with different cultures across the very diverse regions that we operate in, each with strong customer bases, and each with very strong sales teams. Understanding and engaging with those teams is something that motivates me as well."
In July it was announced that Cathay Pacific director of cargo Tom Owen would be stepping down from his position at a later date, with Dominic Perrett, regional general manager Southeast Asia, due to take up the role.
