Irish International Freight Association are pleased to announce Dayna Thackrah, representing Rhenus Air & Ocean Ireland Ltd., as the winner of the inaugural Young Irish Freight Forwarder of the Year competition.
IIFA launched this competition in November 2023, as an initiative to promote and recognise the work of young professionals in the industry. Cargo movements in themselves are achievements of planning and successful delivery of coordinated carrier movements. There are many exciting success stories within the industry of delivering creative solutions for Clients and this competition aims to provide a platform for the work of young Irish Freight Forwarders to be recognised.
This Irish competition acts as the selection process for Ireland's Candidate for the annual FIATA global Young Logistics Professional Award (YLP). The YLP is a global competition delivered between FIATA, the International Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations, and competition sponsor the TT Club, inviting countries across FIATA’s global membership body to nominate a single candidate each to compete across 4 regions: Americas, Africa-Middle East, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Ms. Thackrah will now begin to write her 6,000 word thesis ahead of the submission date at the close of April 2024, where her thesis will then be judged by FIATA’s steering committee along with the other European entries.
For the 2024 competition in Ireland, IIFA Members were invited to nominate a candidate who would outline their career to date and to propose a potential cargo movement as the basis for a more in-depth dissertation. Ms. Thackrah’s proposed thesis topic is a complex shipment of temperature controlled pharmaceutical products under strict carriage and dangerous goods handling conditions, executed through bookings across multiple carriers. Cargo shipments of such complexity are the standard set by previous FIATA Young Logistics Professionals and within IIFA, it was felt that Ms. Thackrah outlined the foundations for an Irish entry capable of competing on the global stage.
IIFA President, Sandra Morrissey, who was among the Judging Panel from within IIFA reviewed the submissions for 2024 mentions “As President of the IIFA I am honoured that we are involved in such a great competition with regards to the Young Irish Freight Forwarder of the Year. It is an excellent platform and springboard to an exciting career in freight forwarding and logistics and provides inspiration to all the young people joining our industry each year.”
“Dayna Thackrah has been selected as the winner as her submission showed her interest and ambition in several different aspects of the industry and demonstrates her willingness to learn and become fluent in all areas of the industry and I would like to wish her well.”
“I am thrilled to have been selected as the Young Irish Freight Forwarder of the Year,” comments Dayna Thackrah, Pharma Operations with Rhenus Air & Ocean Ireland Ltd. “The IIFA Young Freight Forwarder is a great chance to make new connections and share my knowledge with other young freight forwarders. Simultaneously this will allow me to research and gain a more in-depth knowledge of the procedures I practice. I truly believe the key to building a fruitful career is to continue learning from those who are experienced and to share what I have learnt with other young professionals.”
IIFA are excited to have introduced this initiative to promote the good work of young Irish Freight Forwarders. IIFA also wishes to acknowledge the three finalists who were also in consideration for this 2024 award: Damian Campbell of Emerald Freight Ltd., Daniel Gorman of Expeditors Ireland Ltd. and David Macken of Hawthorn Logistics Limited.
IIFA wish Ms. Thackrah the very best as she prepares her thesis and looks forward to seeing her thesis submitted to FIATA for consideration at the end of April 2024.
