The CEO who built one of the world's biggest GSSA companies from scratch finds peace in gardening and reading
My favourite travel destination must be India, there are so many regions with deep history and diverse cultures, plus the food is fantastic! I would like to explore even more of this beautiful country,”
Stephen Dawkins is a legend in the global GSSA industry. With nothing but experience, ambition, leap of faith and determination to succeed, he founded Air Logistics Group (ALG) in 1994.
The company’s first invoice was just £50 from its first airline customer, Islandsflug, 30 years ago. Today, Air Logistics is one of the world’s biggest in the GSSA industry with 90 offices in 45 countries. Conservatively, the company handles more than US$500 million of cargo sales and nearly half a million air way bills annually for different airlines across six continents.
“I began my career in air cargo at 16 years of age, loading mail bags at East Midlands Airport in the United Kingdom. Once you have the smell of jet fuel in your nostrils and you feel the spirit of the people who work at Airports, I was hooked for life,” Dawkins recalled.
The first two years of Air Logistics Group was very tough but under Dawkins’ leadership, the team’s hard work eventually paid off.
“For the first two years, it was very tough. Convincing people to use our services was initially challenging and the long hours and tens of thousands of miles travelled was of course tiring. But hard work and a belief in the offering we were making paid off. In life you also need luck, when I reflect on our company’s success, I will be eternally grateful to the many Cargo Directors who believed in our abilities and the many Forwarders who used our services,” shared Dawkins, the CEO of Air Logistics Group.
Though he never had a university degree, Dawkins steered Air Logistics to the right direction, growing the company from strength to strength each year.
The air cargo industry’s dynamic and volatile business landscape requires flexibility. Dawkins said work-life balance is difficult to achieve in this scenario, the key is to seize the moment.
“That (work-life balance) is very difficult to achieve. You need good work colleagues supporting you and a family around you who understand the demands of our industry. When the opportunity arises, you make the very most of the down time with family and friends,” said Dawkins. “Gardening and reading are tremendous for me as ways to relax.”
For travel and food, Dawkins particularly likes India because of its diverse cultures and landscapes.
“My favourite travel destination must be India, there are so many regions with deep history and diverse cultures, plus the food is fantastic! I would like to explore even more of this beautiful country,” he said.
When asked about his favorite cuisine, he replied, “It must be Indian food! The flavors and variations are just fascinating.”
Dawkins likes all sports but developed a great passion for the English football. “I love all sports but there is one sport that I have great passion for and that’s English football. My football team is Derby County Football Club (DCFC) they were one of the original founder members of the English Football League in 1888. English football is steeped in history, and I follow DCFC with a passion.”
Dawkins’ zest for reforms in the air cargo industry is still burning but laments it’s a struggle.
“We live in a completely different and complicated world today. Especially in our industry, there is a lack of young people coming through, and shame on us for not investing more into
training and encouraging younger people into our Industry,” he said.
“Unfortunately, training budgets always seem to be the first budgets cut. But it’s not training, it’s an investment in our industry’s future. The younger generations are bringing innovative ideas. They are changing the way we manage our business, and that can only be a good thing for cargo as for too long we have been living in the 1970’s,” he added.
