What is your business industry category or specialty?
Kuehne + Nagel (KN) is one of the world’s leading logistics providers. Our business activities
and market position are built on our key capabilities of Seafreight (no. 1 globally) & Airfreight
(number 2 globally), Contract Logistic and Road & Rail logistics. Our company focuses on
providing end-to-end and IT-based logistics solutions.
How do you describe your job to people outside the industry?
There are several ways to explain our services: KN transports and moves everything that FedEx
and UPS do not pick-up. Another way to look at KN is as the travel agent for cargo and freight!
Take as example a company like Walmart; roughly 85% of everything you see in their stores is
manufactured overseas. Companies like KN ensure that these goods are brought into the
country and into the stores.

Who are your main competitors and what differentiates you from the competition? What
makes you unique?
KN operates in a very competitive environment. Some of the better know players are DHL,
Schencker, Expeditors and CEVA.
There are several things that make KN unique:
People: We invest a significant amount of time and money in our people and their career paths.
That is one of the reasons why KN has one of the most loyal and experienced workforces in our
industry.
Systems: KN is a non-asset company, meaning we do not own any ships, planes or trucks
ourselves. We manage a huge global network of partners and suppliers. KN invest heavily in (IT)
systems and in combination with our 63,000 employees, this creates the world’s best Logistics
network.
Financial Stability & Compliance: We are financially strong and conservative, and Compliance is
on the top of our agenda. This becomes increasingly important with the continued globalization
of international trade.
Our leading position is widely recognized within our industry: KN was awarded the Airfreight
Forwarder of the year in 2011 and 2012 (2013 results not available yet…).

How was the business started?
The business was founded in Bremen, Germany, by August Kuehne and Friedrich Nagel in
1890. In over 120 years, KN has evolved from a traditional international Seafreight forwarder to a
leading global provider of innovative and fully integrated supply chain solutions. Mr. Kuehne is
still the majority shareholder. KN expanded in the USA starting in the 1960’s.
How many employees does the business have?
Today, the Kuehne + Nagel Group has more than 63,000 employees in 1,000 offices in over 100
countries. In North America, we employ over 6,000 people of which 700 call the South East
region home. The biggest KN facility in the South East region is Atlanta, with almost 300
employees.

How did you end up in Atlanta?
I moved to the USA in 2006 when the (Dutch) company I worked for back then (Fokker) acquired
several companies in the South East. After 6 years in Alabama and Georgia, my wife and I
moved back to Amsterdam in early 2012. An exciting opportunity came by to join KN and we
moved back to Atlanta late 2013.

What is your number one business goal over the next year?
Within KN we focus our services and capabilities on specific Industry Segments. For the South
East region, the Aerospace and Automotive industry are key markets. I am responsible for the
Aerospace Market for KN in North America, and the focus for this year is developing and growing
the Aerospace customer base. We already have some very reputable Aerospace companies as
our customers, including Delta Air Lines, Airbus, Rolls-Royce and B/E Aerospace and are eager
to further build our portfolio!

What is the best advice you have received regarding doing business with
Americans/Dutch?
Although there are a lot of similarities between the Dutch and American culture, there are as
many, if not more differences! When acknowledging and respecting these differences, the
combination of 2 cultures can be very powerful.
Any other personal information you would like to share, e.g. hobbies, special interests,
family etc…
My wife and I enjoy living in Atlanta and we are currently looking for a home. House hunting has
been a fun experience so far and we have gotten to know the city a lot better and from a different
perspective. We both like to play golf and travel and consider ourselves what they now call
“Foodles”. Atlanta is a great city for exploring new restaurants!