FT:  Thanks for accepting our questions, Mr Ullrich. We read in your social media profile that you are based in Chicago, which was once the busiest airport in the world. Do you believe this contributed to putting aviation at the centre of your education and career choices when you were younger? Was the transition from aviation to logistics a natural step or a decision looking for better opportunities?
BU:  Yes, certainly. Growing up just 5 miles from ORD, I was interested in airplanes and aviation at an early age. There was always a lot of activity in the sky around O’Hare and we did a lot of plane spotting as kids. As a young kid living close to aircraft landing and taking off all day, it was impossible to avoid looking upward to the sky . . . After watching you want to be part of it, so there was I eventually. My education was focussed on aviation and I managed to get my private and commercial pilot certificate for flying aircraft – privately and I am still flying as a hobby today. But evidently, I was not destined to become a pilot, life goes on and many other doors open for you. I entered the area of logistics still early in my career and then moved on through a series of changes that involved the companies I was working for.

FT:  In your role at EMO Trans you seem to be in a position where you would have multiple choices to make. What is the guiding principle, is it just a question of price, or do you have particular requirements that you expect your service providers to meet?
BU:  A lot of factors go into the decision making. Price is certainly a determining factor, but not the primary. Most important I believe is meeting the customers’ requirements. We always try to provide the most direct economical routing available, and this leads to choosing a service provider with proven reliability. In my view this is the only way to meet your customers’ needs, price matters but services in place matter most.

FT:  We have heard you are attending CNS. We are great supporters of this platform, as we believe its influence on the level of air cargo services is significant. We read on CNS’s website that “CNS’s primary purpose has been, and continues to be, the development and distribution of programs and services to all providers of air cargo to help them achieve their respective business strategies. CNS aims to foster an environment of professionalism, innovation and mutual respect and understanding of each other’s challenges.”
BU:  Yes, I am attending the annual conference. It is a chance for us all to be together for important discussions and to continue to develop relationships. It has always been an exciting event. All in all, I have been participating in the meetings for some twenty years in different capacities, eventually on behalf of EMO Trans. We are a people’s industry and CNS can work as the perfect milieu for making connections that are destined to last in time and bring about meaningful consequences.

FT:  There are areas in the world where the following statement “today's air cargo industry understands that we are all dependent on each other for our success” would elicit different comments. What is your thought in this regard?
BU:  I do believe the statement as fact and can be taken as is. Each of us provides a link in the chain and we are dependent on one another for success of the air cargo industry. CNS and IATA continue to foster collaboration and education for our industry here in the U.S. They provide a neutral environment we can all draw from to meet our individual goals.

FT:  In closing, we would be delighted if you could share a thought or suggestion for the younger generation approaching logistics and air cargo in particular. What would be your recommendation for today’s young freight forwarder?
BU:  My suggestion for the younger freight forwarders thinking about a career would be to try and learn all aspects of the business and look for the role that suits you best. There are many different jobs, roles and positions that make up the air cargo industry. ‘Find one that you like and stick with it.’
     This final point is in my view extremely important. We live in a period which is not particularly inclined to teaching the value of perseverance. There are so many opportunities for the younger generation, in particular in the USA and the most developed areas of the world. We see at times young professionals suddenly veering off to pursue a new career or a new project. This often marks a positive development for the person, but it may pose risks that at times could be underestimated.
     For companies, as we have oftentimes heard, this is a big challenge, to the point of requiring particular strategies to ensure continuity in staffing. In this regard I can add a personal note: much of the success that luckily came in my career had to do with the fact of ‘sticking with it’. Trying and experimenting with one’s career is quite fine up to a certain point: we all did, didn’t we? But the ability to stick to your piece and get the best out of it is probably more important.”
     This is a very good final suggestion for which we are grateful to Brett Ullrich, our guest of the day.
     Let us close this interview with a note from our guest about his city and workplace: “Chicago is a great place to work and live with ORD still being one of the busiest airports in the world with one of the best cargo communities in the country. I look forward to catching up with my friends and colleagues from the Midwest and across the country at the CNS conference in DFW.”
     We have unintentionally built a special number on Chicago. It came about as a sort of serendipity exercise. When Sabiha and Geoffrey asked me to reflect on the events that were leading to CNS, and to take contact with those in charge, Chicago coalesced on my screen as though coming with the wind . . . The wind of Chicago, the sudden, gusty zephyr you feel at the base of the tall, solid buildings of the city, which “compels you to put your hand to your hat” that would be otherwise blustered in all directions by the Aeolian deities of the air.
     All came with the wind and all travelled by air, this time to DFW!
Marco L. Sorgetti