The move comes after a significant restructure for ABP on the Humber, which recently saw the four ports of Hull, Goole, Grimsby, and Immingham brought under one directorate.
Mark, who comes from York, joins the company after a career in logistics for the Royal Mail and then DHL.
“After completing my degree at Leeds University I applied for a number of graduate schemes,” said Mark. “I received a few offers and accepted a job with Royal Mail at their centre in Leeds. It was a great experience and two years after joining the company, I was in charge of 200 people.”
During his time with Royal Mail Mark found himself considering overseas opportunities following a visit to Japan to see his brother, who was working for DHL.
“I was attracted to that lifestyle,” Mark admits. “I was 25 and wanted to see the world; my brother was enjoying what he was doing so when I returned to the UK I applied for a job with DHL in the Middle East. I got the job and moved out to Bahrain.”
As operations and compliance manager Mark was responsible for ensuring the business ran as it should according to its established processes and ISO policies. After three years the role expanded to cover South America, Africa, south east Europe, and the CIS countries.
A vacancy then became available with DHL in Las Vegas that presented Mark with the opportunity to run his own operation, before he made another move to San Francisco to manage a heavily unionised workforce.
Mark worked to improve overall performance and staff engagement at the DHL San Francisco operation and by the time he left it was one of the top 15 best-performing locations in the entire United States.
Tenures in the Caribbean followed before a move to Canada and a career change, when Mark accepted a role with National Oilwell Varco (NOV) as the country’s head of distribution, warehousing and logistics. It was while he was working for NOV that the port manager role with ABP came to his attention.
He said: “I could see that the job offered a fantastic opportunity for me to find out about an entirely new sector and use my skills to help the business enhance its effectiveness, while working for a company that helps move the UK economy.
“When I was offered the post I immediately said yes. I am really looking forward to getting to know my new team and all of those who work at the ports.”
ABP Director Humber John Fitzgerald is looking forward to working with Mark and the rest of the Humber team to drive further growth and improve business performance.
He said: “The addition of Mark to our team here on the Humber will significantly strengthen our operations. His wide-ranging experience in driving continuous improvement to deliver great customer service is key to what we’re trying to achieve here at ABP.
“I’m looking forward to working with him and I’m also looking forward to seeing the positive changes he will undoubtedly bring about.”