As I started my career in shipping with American President Lines at 22 years old, I had the great fortune to work with wonderful mentors who taught me not just about the business, but more broadly about life. Tim Rhein, former CEO at APL, Solon Webb, Jordan Truchan, and others have all supported me throughout my career.

Do you remember your first leadership role? How has your view of leadership evolved over time?

My first leadership role was with American President Lines. I was young and certainly had a lot to learn, and successive leadership roles gave me an opportunity to grow and develop. Leadership is all about people and how you deal with people. It is also about the standards you hold yourself to—you must be above reproach. Today at SeaCube we have six offices around the globe and manage over $4 billion in maritime assets. As a leader I try to provide our team with clarity of direction, the tools and resources required to do the job, and support and inspiration to be successful. Communication as a leader is also critical—I’m not just the Chief Executive Officer, but the Chief Repeating Officer—driving the vision, direction, and culture constantly with the broader team around the world.

What is your view on the impact of organizational culture in individual and company performance?

Culture is at the center of any successful organization, it trumps strategy, technology, and other business trends that may happen to be in style for the moment. I spend most of my time on people and culture. We try to build a culture that drives a high-performance work ethic, but 26 balances that with kindness and generosity. You can be a hard-charging organization and achieve great success and treat people with respect and kindness along the way. Those two culture traits are not mutually exclusive. You will never drive the innovation, commitment, and successful outcomes you aim for without buy-in from the team. That buy-in is all based on authenticity of leadership, mutual respect, and yes, kindness.

What advice would you give someone who is beginning a career in the maritime industry? How do you hire? What do you seek in a candidate?

Our maritime industry is the great silent industry. People don’t think about it or understand it. The clothes on your back, the shoes on your feet, and the food on your plate all came from somewhere else, and probably came here on a ship and in a container. We need to make what we do and how we do it as in industry more visible to young people. I would encourage all young people to consider this industry: it’s important to our nation and to the world. You don’t need to come from a maritime academy or have served at sea to build a fascinating and exciting career in this business. Bring a full heart and the right attitude and we can teach you all the technical skills you need to know to be successful. At SeaCube we hire folks from all backgrounds from all over the world. We run our business in a constant state of being constructively dissatisfied. People with diverse backgrounds provide differing points of view and help drive our success.

What is the role of innovation in your work?

Technology, business intelligence, and artificial intelligence will help further transform this business. The shipping industry can at times move at a glacial pace. I think that is changing with more sophisticated technology. We have over 1.7 million pieces of equipment moving around the world for our customers. How those units behave, how much energy the refrigerated units consume, how have units been repaired and managed, is all visible now with telematics and technology. These changes and more easily available data will help customers better reach ambitious decarbonization goals, improve network efficiency, reduce overall cost, and drive operational excellence for all stakeholders. The future is here.

What inspires you?

My wife and family are and have been my inspiration. I can’t be the CEO and leader I want to be at work, if I am not the husband, father, son, and brother I need to be at home. I want to set a good example for my two sons, one who has followed my vocation and the other my avocation. I want to be the husband my wife deserves. That means providing respect, love, and support every day, but understanding that I would not be able to have done my work in our industry without their support. I am also inspired everyday by the people I work with at SeaCube, by their devotion and commitment. It’s my honor to serve them and serve alongside them in our industry.

Is there something else you’d like to say?

The United States is a maritime nation by necessity because our economy, security, global standing are fundamentally dependent on the sea for trade, resources, and strategic power. Our maritime industry is foundational to this important precept. When we work in this industry, we serve something bigger than ourselves. I hope we all remain mindful of that, and we work to move the industry forward, inspiring teammates and attracting new talent, resources, and investments in the business. I remain impressed everyday with the SeaCube team around the globe. For more than 30 years SeaCube has served our customers and helped to enable global commerce. Our success is based in a strong sense of purpose and community as we continue to grow and transform our business.