Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC) is the world’s largest privately-owned shipping company, and was founded in 1970 by Captain Gianluigi Aponte, with one small vessel, the M/V Patricia. Headquartered firstly in Brussels, moving thereafter to Geneva, MSC now has a network of over 480 offices in 155 countries, employing a team of over 70,000 dedicated individuals. They operate an established fleet of 490 container vessels and they cover 200 routes globally, calling at 500 ports. Today they are a truly global company.
The Aponte family has a long and proud seafaring tradition, with maritime ancestry dating back to the 17th century in Italy. Gianluigi Aponte, Group Executive Chairman, from the very beginning placed an enormous amount of value on his staff, seeing each and every person employed by the organisation as part of a larger family story.
It was with this ethos in mind that Kevin Clarke, Managing Director Australia & New Zealand (MSCA), approached Peak Teams to deliver specialised training to MSCA. “Mr Aponte has always been clear about keeping our family traditions at the forefront of the business, and we wanted to ensure that we maintain this as a strong part of our cultural heritage. Our Agency has, like the rest of the MSC world, seen a lot of change and growth, and we want to embrace this and ensure we maintain a strong sense of company cohesion”.
Kevin continued, “We engaged Peak Teams to deliver a training program for core staff in 2017. The aim was to reinvigorate our teams as the industry had been through a lot of consolidation in recent times, and in an ever-changing environment we wanted to build on our competitive advantage and foster a strong team spirit. We really wanted to invest in our number one asset – our people”.
lan Schubach, CEO of Red Leaf Group, comments, “When highly successful international companies grow rapidly, you often find that the pressures of increased productivity can create a complex network of issues. With a new motto “One Vision One Team” MSCA sought the guidance of the Red Leaf Group to achieve their aims.
lan says, “MSCA liked our adventure background and they were open to a different approach, So, we launched with one of our wilderness simulation products which really engaged their team. This was followed with more practical and analytical products to help them to embark on a process of continuous improvement, spearheaded by their Senior Leadership Team. We found that our products really reached them on an emotional, practical and rational level.”
“When a company steeped in tradition opens its doors for specialised guidance.”