Brandon Fried To Retire

     AirCargo Conference big news today—sad for us, good for him, is that long time vortex for all things air cargo, Brandon Fried is packing it in, announcing his planned retirement as Executive Director of AfA at the close of business this year of 2026.
     Brandon has led the AfA founded by Jim Foster for two dozen+ years as one the longest serving leaders in air cargo.
     He has been and continues to this day to be, ace of the place, operating from his base in Washington, D.C. where he advances the forwarder agenda.
     Best thing about Brandon, for the industry down on the ground, is his attitude of inclusion that everybody should be welcome to organized air cargo events and from that, his well-attended yearly Air Cargo Conference "for everybody else" has become a mainstay of the industry.
     Brandon's record of service to scores of air cargo organizations, both large and small at airports and elsewhere all over the U.S. and internationally has not been approached or matched by anyone else in the history of the industry.
     Most recently, when leaders in Miami gathered to bring back The Miami Air Cargo Association (MACA) first Keynoter Speaker that answered the call just last month was—you guessed it—Brandon Fried.
     During the transition period, the Fried presser states "he, will continue to carry out his responsibilities in full, leading the AfA’s advocacy, policy engagement, and member activities until his successor has been appointed."
     The Board of Director’s (AfA) industry leaders and friends are pictured today at the Orlando meeting this morning, wishing Brandon (far left) well.
     Robert Browning's poem goes out to Brandon:

                    “Grow old along with me!
                    The best is yet to be,
                    The last of life, for which the first was made:
                    Our times are in His hand
                    Who saith “A whole I planned,
                    Youth shows but half;
                    trust God: see all, nor be afraid!”

Geoffrey Arend