Executive Moves: Crowley and InstaFreight

Three company veterans are promoted and a logistics specialist is named chairman of the board.
   Crowley announced Tuesday that Patrick Collins has been promoted to vice president of terminal operations; Jose “Pache” Ayala has been named vice president of Caribbean logistics; and Claudia Kattán de Jordán has been appointed vice president of Central America logistics. 
   All three report to Steve Collar, senior vice president and general manager of Crowley Logistics.
   Collins (pictured above left), who will remain based at Port Everglades, Fla., is responsible for the overall operations and strategy for the company’s domestic cargo terminals. Since 2014, Collins has overseen cargo operations for Crowley’s terminal at Port Everglades as general manager, after previously being cargo operations manager. In total, he has nearly 20 years of experience in the maritime sector. 
   Ayala (pictured above center) now has expanded responsibility for coordinating sales, marketing and operational shipping activities throughout Crowley’s footprint in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and the Caribbean islands. Previously the head of Crowley’s services in Puerto Rico, Ayala will support local sales management and work to enhance Crowley’s service offerings in the entire Caribbean region. He will remain based in Puerto Rico. Ayala joined Crowley’s administrative team in 2007 and served in labor relations and then as manager of the San Juan terminal operation before being promoted in 2012 to vice president for Puerto Rico. 
   Kattán de Jordán (pictured above right) is taking on expanded responsibility for all of Crowley’s supply chain services throughout Central America. She is overseeing the region’s sales, marketing and operations activities; development of policies and procedures; operating results; annual revenue and capital budgets; contractor and service provider agreements; and developing business relationships. Based in Honduras, she began her career with Crowley in 1989 and has held various positions, including customer service representative, sales coordinator, sales executive, sales manager, general manager and, most recently, vice president of liner services. 
   Crowley said the promotions follow the “recent integration of its liner services and logistics business lines into a singular, highly focused logistics organization providing customers with end-to-end services, including ocean, land and air transportation; commercial transportation management; supply chain and distribution services; freight forwarding and warehousing; and cargo risk and customs compliance.”

   The Berlin startup InstaFreight announced Thursday that logistics specialist Dirk Reich has been appointed chairman of the board.
   Reich has more than 35 years of experience in the industry, including 20 years at Kuehne + Nagel.
   “Digitizing logistics is an exciting challenge that InstaFreight is taking up. I see great potential in this business model and look forward to working with the InstaFreight team to shape the future of road logistics,” Reich said.
   InstaFreight said it consolidates the capacity of more than 6,000 carriers and offers it to shippers in one digital interface.
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Kim Link Wills

Senior Editor Kim Link-Wills has written about everything from agriculture as a reporter for Illinois Agri-News to zoology as editor of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Her work has garnered awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Magazine Association of the Southeast. Prior to serving as managing editor of American Shipper, Kim spent more than four years with XPO Logistics.