In my six years with Toll, I’ve had the opportunity to work in three different roles. Starting as Vice President of Operations in the USA, I went on to head up the Project Management Office for North America, and for the past three years I have worked as VP of Global Transformation and Operational Excellence. The progression and opportunities Toll has provided for me are excellent.

I first became interested in the industry through my family who are shipowners and carved my own path into cold-chain and perishables shipping and later logistics. Throughout my career, I have worked with leaders and continue to work with leaders at Toll that see diversity as an asset to the business.

For me, diversity in its traditional sense is critical, especially as it sparks diversity of thought. A global business like ours, focussed on growth and innovation, greatly benefits from unique and diverse teams. 

My own journey crosses many countries, as well as languages. I am originally from Belgium and grew up speaking Flemish, French and German. I learnt English in South Africa, as well as Japanese while going to high school in Japan. Now married to an American and living in Southern California, English is my everyday language. I worked in Europe, Japan, China, and several places in the USA, including Dutch Harbor, Alaska and had the opportunity to experience the different facets of the carrier and freight forwarding industry over the past 18 years.

One thing I am enjoying greatly is to mentor others. For the past years, I have had this opportunity formally and informally at Toll. The world is changing and gone are the days of thinking about what is not possible. When mentoring I find that if I can inspire just one person, provide an opportunity to progress their career or help solve a challenge, that brings great satisfaction.

“To be part of Toll’s future, you need to be open to change. We have transformed dramatically, and we will continue to evolve. With the speed of technology and digitalisation gathering pace you need to be able to move with it.”