At the end of February, Nancy DeBoer began her new challenge as Branch Manager in Oslo. The ideal opportunity to let her tell us who she is, what experience she brings, and what all she wants to accomplish.
Can you briefly introduce yourself, Nancy?
Nancy: “My name is Nancy DeBoer. It sounds Dutch, but I am half Norwegian and half American. I was born in Norway and lived in Miami and New Jersey until I was five years old. Now I live with my husband in Oslo, near the famous ski jump Holmenkollen. Together we have three children: Maria (23), Thomas (24), and Phillip (26). Currently I am also studying part time for an Executive Master of Management degree, which I’ll have completed within a year.”
What were your responsibilities in your previous job?
Nancy: “In my previous role I was National Operations Manager for the Global Projects and Industry Solutions business unit at DB Schenker in Norway, also a prominent logistics service provider. There I was responsible for the day-to-day operations of my business unit on a national level. My responsibilities included managing the finances, defining strategy, improving processes and negotiating and concluding contracts with customers, to name a few. In total I have over 26 years of experience in the logistics sector in various roles within management, operations, sales and customer service. I find that my broad experience helps me understand business processes from customer acquisition to invoicing and to identify where there might be issues and improvement opportunities.”
What will be the main tasks in your current job?
Nancy: “As Branch Manager in Oslo, I report to Ron Simpelaar, the Business Unit Manager for Liquid Bulk, and am responsible for the day-to-day operations of our Norwegian branch. This includes financial results, defining strategy, improving processes, negotiating contracts with customers, and improving how we utilize our TMS. This is the software we use to plan routes, track payments, and communicate with customers.
In the short term, I will be focusing on creating an efficient structure. I have a team of 12 people, and want to clearly define their roles first. In my experience, this will help in terms of efficiency, ease of communication, and it will improve results for our company and our customers in the long run.
Another goal is to work together with my team to develop a sales strategy so that we can expand our customer portfolio.”
What appealed to you in this job?
Nancy: “The challenge of building a new structure in Oslo and completing the integration of the Tank Management organization and operations into H.Essers.
H.Essers took over the Norwegian company Tank Management during the corona crisis, and we are now in a transition period where the structure, communication, and way of working as part of the much larger H.Essers group need to be developed and adapted. We have a strong team in Oslo and I am eager to get started, and during the talks I had with H.Essers it quickly became clear to me that this is a progressive company with a long family tradition, and that our values corresponded. That’s when the choice was clear to me.”
What are your strengths?
Nancy: “I am highly organized and structured and stand for clarity and honest communication. Furthermore, I am result-oriented, highly dedicated to my job, and can motivate teams to achieve common goals. I firmly believe that the best results are created by working together as a team not through individual efforts.”