News

Date of joining Ben Line Agencies: March 2007
Current location: Ben Line Agencies Indonesia

Dan was born in Bournemouth UK, in 1973 and his association with shipping commenced in 1992 with Wallenius Lines as a trainee boarding officer in the port of Southampton. In March 2007 he joined Ben Line Agencies Malaysia as General Manager, before moving to Jakarta in a similar role and thereafter Country Manager since July 2013. During his time in Indonesia, Ben Line Agencies has witnessed unprecedented growth and as a result of his contributions and endeavours the company is delighted to announce his promotion to Director.

Here we get to know Dan a little better

• How did you get into the shipping industry?I grew up in Southampton which is a large port city, after leaving college I started working at Wallenius Lines port operations office as a trainee boarding officer.
• Who were you with prior joining Ben Line Agencies?As mentioned I started my shipping life with Wallenius Lines in UK, and from there have had various roles, and worked in various countries with Wallenius Lines in UK and Sweden. NYK Bulkship/RoRo in UK, USA and Singapore, and Ben Line Malaysia, Indonesia.
• What qualities did you bring across to Ben Line Agencies from your previous employer(s)?Wallenius Lines was similar to Ben Line in many ways, a family owned company with emphasis on personal service, and building long term relationships with customers, vendors and staff. NYK being a Japanese company with a global corporate structure, had a different working style and culture compared to the European style of Wallenius, but many of the NYK values, trust, stability, loyalty, respect, quality, were common. I try to bring these values into the way I work today.
• What does a typical day involve for you at Ben Line Agencies Indonesia?Not sure there is a typical day ….working in Indonesia involves many different aspects of HR issues, daily operation management, finance issues, business development, dealing with changes to regulations, etc… all of these change on a daily basis.
• What are the biggest challenges you face in your current role?The scale and diversity of the operations and different challenges per region within the country, business development, HR issues and managing the Ben Line Agencies Indonesia team across the country, finance and tax matters.
• How would you describe your leadership style?I try to be calm and practical, empathising with the staff and the daily activity, open to discussion and new ideas that can improve our business. In my previous roles I have worked in Operations, Documentation and Customer Service, Sales, Logistics and trade manage management, so this has helped to give me a rounded background that has proved to be very useful.
• What has been your finest achievement in your time at Ben Line Agencies Indonesia?Building a strong team for all areas of our business, and developing the office network to cover all the major Indonesian ports.
• During your spare time what do you do to unwind?Main interests are sports, football and cricket, I still play football (unfortunately not for Arsenal!) most weekends. I like to attend concerts, also travelling as much as possible when time allows.
• What is your favourite Indonesian cuisine?Nasi Padang, enak…
• Finally, what is your message to the team in Indonesia?To continue with the same team spirit and internal teamwork that has enabled us to achieve our growth and which remains our key strength for future growth. Communication, proactivity and positive attitude is vital to ensure our service levels remain as per our principals expectations of Ben Line standards. Our people are our main asset and maintaining the strong team spirit is very important.