Shawn Richard, Vice President Global Air Freight at SEKO Logistics, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Airforwarders Association (AfA), the voice of the air forwarding industry in the United States.
He joins other newly elected BOD members for the upcoming 2021-2024 term of office and will be officially sworn into office at the AfA’s virtual Board meeting on 5 January. The recruits will join eight existing AfA Directors in continuing the success of the Association and guiding its future growth and development.
Brandon Fried, AfA Executive Director, commented: “The Airforwarders Association is delighted to have Shawn Richard joining our Board. Shawn’s extensive experience and vast industry knowledge make him an ideal Director as we continue our ambitious agenda in promoting the interests of freight forwarders in Washington.”
Shawn joined SEKO Logistics in early 2018, bringing 30 years of logistics industry experience, including extensive knowledge of carrier management, procurement, and cross-border e-commerce. He began his career managing inbound and outbound handling operations for air carriers at New York JFK before joining the predecessor to DHL Global Forwarding in Miami, playing an important role in the successful integrations of Danzas, Exel, and Airborne Express into DHL. He later moved back to the U.S. Northeast with Geodis and, before joining SEKO, held the posts of Chief Operating Officer at Worldnet Shipping USA and as Northeast Regional Sales Manager for Delta Airlines Cargo.
Commenting on his appointment, Shawn said: “I am looking forward to working with the other Board members, as well as the entire AfA membership, to ensure we continue to adopt a proactive role about compliance, security, and innovation, which will guarantee the health and survival of our industry. The AFA will continue to advocate for Freight Forwarders, and this will be more important than ever in the post-COVID world, which will undoubtedly continue to encourage innovation in the supply/demand chain.
I plan on being heavily engaged in key issues for our industry, notably airport congestion, K9 screening, and GHA outreach initiatives to plan and implement immediate service improvements for Forwarders.”