Dr. Jan Hoffnann
Head, Trade Logistics at UNCTAD
Jan joined UNCTAD in 2003 and is Head of the organization’s Trade Logistics Branch since 2016. The Branch implements research and technical assistance programmes in international transport and trade facilitation. Jan is co-author and coordinator of the “Review of Maritime Transport”, “Maritime Country Profiles”, and the “Liner Shipping Connectivity Index”. Previously, he worked six years for the UN ECLAC in Santiago de Chile, and two years for the IMO in London and Santiago. Prior to this, he held part time positions as assistant professor, import-export agent, and seafarer.
Jan has studied in Germany, UK and Spain, and holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Hamburg. He is on the boards of various journals and associations and past president of the International Association of Maritime Economists.
Please Note
After this interview was concluded, Jan Hoffmann was appointed for a position at the World Bank.
See Dr. Jan Hoffmann’s announcement here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/drjanhoffmann_moving-on-very-happy-to-share-that-i-will-activity-7244004556609576960-G6Fj/
As such, we at World Maritime Academy, are happy that our interview with Jan Hoffmann in a way presents his final review and thoughts after 30 years of working for the United Nations family, starting at the IMO in 1995, then ECLAC, and currently UNCTAD until the end of 2024.
Can you describe a typical day in your role? How do you balance strategic planning with daily operational tasks?
A typical day often involves the three “pillars” of our work at UNCTAD: We “Think, Debate, and Deliver”.
Thus, during a typical workday I may be working at my PC and two screens on charts in xls, looking at data on supply chains, shipping networks, the fleet, emissions, trade, or ports, and think about causalities, impacts, and what they mean for developing countries.
Then, we provide a forum for our stakeholders to debate, for example by organizing expert meetings at UNCTAD, or supporting multilateral negotiations at the WTO or the IMO. Thus, during my workday I may be sending emails or have meetings with Delegates, reaching out to member states or prepare an agenda for a meeting.
And finally, in order to deliver our technical assistance projects, I may also be at an airport, on a plane or visiting a port or ministry in a member country, to teach a module of our port management program, advise a counterpart in the Ministry of Trade on trade facilitation reforms, or help a negotiator understand and discuss the decarbonization of maritime transport.
In addition to these three “pillars”, I also need to manage my teams. This may involve meetings with staff about budgets and projects, or filling out forms to plan for UNCTAD publications, or do an interview for a new recruitment.
All in all, a typical workday for me is a motivating combination of strategic planning, analytical work, meeting and working with very diverse colleagues and counterparts, and also travelling to see and – I hope – influence the reality of international logistics around the world.
Can you describe your primary responsibilities as the Head of Trade Logistics at UNCTAD? How do you contribute to shaping global trade shipping & logistics policies?
In UNCTAD’s Trade Logistics Branch we have four sections that shape shipping and logistics policies in different ways. In the area of trade facilitation, we help countries reduce red tape. In transport, especially maritime transport, we provide global analysis and advice on corridors, connectivity, and shipping decarbonization. In the legal area, we work on issues such as liability regimes, competition, and vessel registration. And in ports, we help modernize management and measure ports’ KPIs. All this, and much more, is done by a team of about 40 outstanding, committed staff and consultants, with an amazing range of experiences and expertise.
It is really a privilege to lead and guide these different teams. My role is both, managerial, but also substantive. The managerial work includes recruitments, financial and programme planning, and reporting to our stakeholders. The substantive work includes the coordination and contributions to reports and projects.
How did you reach your current position in the shipping industry? What key experiences and decisions shaped your career path?
With hindsight, I think I was just lucky. My parents had a small shipping company in Northern Germany, with one tween-decker registered in Antigua and Barbuda. So, while studying economics, I worked in the office and during holidays as seafarer on the general cargo ship. Then I learned Spanish thanks to my Spanish wife (tip of the day: get married at the age of 21). Then I was offered a PhD position at the University of Hamburg, because my professor (Dr. Hasenkamp), apparently appreciated that I contradicted him during one of his classes. And this combination of shipping experience, Spanish language, and a PhD in economics was what was coincidently needed when in 1995 there was a vacancy at the IMO in London.
For my subsequent moves, I was lucky, too. Thanks to a bad manager in London, I was encouraged to move to Chile, where I worked first worked one more year for the IMO and then six years for ECLAC. And later again, thanks to a new bad manager at ECLAC, I was motivated to move to UNCTAD in Geneva.
What specific skills and qualities do you believe are essential for success in a leadership role within the shipping industry?
I believe you have to love your job – and people.
Here, in this forum, I guess I am preaching to the converted, but in case the reader is not yet convinced: Shipping is the most international of businesses, and it depends on working together with stakeholders from all over the world.
What educational background and professional experiences are important for someone looking to advance into an executive role in this field?
Rather than learning specific facts or processes, I believe it is more and more important to acquire skills that can be adapted to future demands.
I was lucky that my prof advised me to learn econometrics and analytics, rather than the value of the Keynesian fiscal policy multiplier of the day.
We don’t know what tools and technologies will be required in 20 or 30 years. Even the topics we have to deal with change. My three sons, for example, aged between 27 and 33, today work on climate change adaptation, big data visualizations, and artificial intelligence – all three areas of work that did not exist as course options when I went to university.
How does UNCTAD’s work in trade logistics influence global trade and economic development? Can you provide examples of recent initiatives or projects that have made a significant impact?
Although it is difficult to quantify a real impact, there are actually quite a few initiatives I am proud of, where I think that our work made a difference. Four examples .
We assessed the potential impact of IMO measures to decarbonized maritime transport, and this impact assessment helped IMO member states advance faster with their GHG reduction strategy than would have been the case without our assessment.
We developed – with the World Bank – a new data set that estimates international transport costs for different modes of transport. This builds on an earlier similar data set we had developed at ECLAC, for Latin American countries. It is thanks to such novel and original data sets that transport operators, port authorities, shippers, and policy makers can take better-informed decisions on investment and trade.
During the WTO negotiations on trade facilitation, we supported members in the development of a “special and differential treatment” mechanism, that put developing countries in the position to accept the new Trade Facilitation Agreement. Thanks to the novel mechanism, they were only obliged to implement a measure to cut red tape if they had the technical capacity to do so. While it is impossible to prove, I am convinced that without our support to our members during the negotiations, the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement would not have come to fruition.
In order to assess a country’s or a port’s positions in the global liner shipping network, we developed our Liner Shipping Connectivity Index. This index is based on hard data on fleet deployment, levels of competition, and shipping services, helping policy makers and port authorities take decisions to make their ports more attractive for carriers and shippers.
What are the most pressing challenges currently facing global trade logistics, and how is UNCTAD addressing these issues?
Let me highlight three major challenges.
First, there is digitalization. Collaborating with partners in ports and Customs administrations, we help cutting red tape. We establish Trade Information Portals that help identify potential to reduce the number of steps necessary to import or export, and where these steps could be digitalized. We also support the development of international standards and legal frameworks to spread the use of electronic Bills of Ladings.
Second, the maritime industry wants to decarbonize. Here, we published hard data and KPIs on the industry’s performance as regards GHG emissions; we collaborate with the IMO in the impact assessments of future measures; and we work with ports to help them become smart and sustainable.
Third, ports and shipping have become mainstream in the context of resilient supply chains. We have on-line tools that help operators and policy makers assess the sustainability of their operations, improve supply chain resilience, and make ports smart and sustainable.
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in trade logistics. What steps is UNCTAD taking to promote sustainable trade practices and reduce the environmental impact of global logistics?
Promoting sustainable practices in trade logistics is really at the core of our activities.
Above, I mentioned the three “pillars” of our work. Applying the “think, debate, deliver” to sustainability includes research on environmental aspects of shipping and trade facilitation, the organization of inter-governmental meetings on the topic, and the incorporation of sustainability aspects into practically all our technical assistance projects.
Can you share an example of a crisis or significant disruption you’ve managed? What were the key steps you took to navigate through it?
Hmm – that question reads like one of those interview questions during a “competency-based” job interview 😊 .
Even though it is long ago, I still feel close to the family shipping business run by my parents. We truly had skin in the game, and lived through the shipping cycles. As charter rates went down, and we still had to pay back the bank-loan for our tween-decker, we took the very difficult decision to “flag-out”, i.e. to register our ship under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, rather than using the German flag. It’s a long story, but in the end our little shipping company did survive, carrying general cargo from port to port, mostly in Europe, but also going to North America and Western Africa.
How do you engage with various stakeholders, including government bodies, customers, and local communities, to ensure smooth operations and strategic alignment?
The beauty of logistics is that there are many situations where you can – and should – work together to find collaborative solutions. If one port improves its efficiency, most other ports in the world – except the immediate neighbours which might be competitors – will also benefit, because the door-to-door logistics costs will go down. This means more business and lower costs for all stakeholders, from the shipper, to the carrier, and including the ports along the chain.
I am not religious, but if I were, I would probably be a Buddhist: I feel I am part of something big and amazing, and that includes the partners and colleagues and counterparts.
I once had the opportunity to take part in a course at UNCTAD on “collaborative negotiations”, which we took to better help our clients in Geneva, who are mostly “negotiators”, i.e. Delegates who represent their countries at UNCTAD, the WTO, the ILO, WHO, ITU, etc etc. In the end, I found the course was also good for my own work, as it helps identify win-win situations. I find that most relationships are not zero-sum games, but normally all stakeholders can benefit from a collaborative outcome.
What’s your approach to leading and managing diverse teams, particularly in a dynamic and often high-pressure environment?
Thanks to dual nationalities, I think there actually more than 40 different passports in the team of about 40 staff and consultants.
Easier said than done, I do try to work with everybody based on his/her abilities and interests. Rather than insisting simply following instructions, I aim at explaining and convincing why the proposed path of action is the one the colleague(s) should follow. Of course, the more people there are in the team, the more difficult it is to always achieve consensus. Yet, on the rare occasions where I could not achieve consensus and had to make a choice with which not everybody agreed, I have found that the team colleagues understood that in the end it was my responsibility to take this or that decision.
Sometimes, there is really too much on our plate at the same time. For example, during the first half of this year 2024, we had our full work programme of publications and technical assistance and meetings – and in addition were organizing the Global Supply Chain Forum in Barbados, running the impact assessment for the IMO project, and had to write our 2024 Review of Maritime Transport. All this against a background of a budget freeze and worsening working conditions in our new offices. Motivation among staff was not good – and it is still not an easy working environment.
While I have tried hard over the last months to keep up a good mood, motivation, and encouragement, I also feel that at times there are limits to how much more we can be requested “to do more with less”.
How do you stay current with industry trends and continuously develop your skills and knowledge in such a rapidly evolving sector?
I see my work partly as a “translator”. Our clients are mostly in the public sector, be it negotiators in Geneva, or civil servants in the Ministries, port-, maritime- and Customs-authorities in capitals. Negotiators in Geneva have to cover a wide range of issues, including trade and transport, but also health, human rights, refugees etc etc. If we can help these member states to better understand trade logistics and transport issues, we help them to take better decisions.
Thus, what I personally try is to keep abreast of developments not only in politics, but also in academia and business. I am member of a number of professional and business networks. Being on the board of an academic journal, peer reviewer for an international conference, or member of the Propeller Club of the port of Geneva, all helps me learn about latest developments, which I can then digest, interpret, and pass on to my member states.
In addition to these memberships, we are lucky at UNCTAD to have access to major knowledge platforms, news services, and data providers. Thus I can at any time review statistics and ship movements, to ensure that I have the latest information at hand before embarking on my next project to think, debate, or deliver.
What trends or developments in the shipping or port industry are you currently most excited about, and how do you see these shaping the future of the sector?
I am personally fascinated by artificial intelligence (AI). Not claiming to be an expert, I have read most recent books on the topic, and am convinced that we are seeing a major transformation of humanity.
The progress we see in AI is exponential. It affects the way we live, we work, and of course if also affects our industry. Automation and optimization of logistics will advance ever faster, and anybody who enters the industry today should perhaps study AI and machine learning and coding, more than the characteristics of vessel types that run on fossil fuels.
What do you see as the major opportunities and challenges for the shipping and port industry in the next few years?
The more immediate challenges and opportunities lie in the decarbonization of maritime transport.
Ports need to get ready to 1) receive different ships; 2) load and unload different cargoes; 3) provide cold ironing services, i.e. electricity for ships while in port; 4) invest in climate change adaptation; 5) position themselves for a changing geography of trade; 6) invest in digital services such as port call optimization and other means to help carriers and shippers reduce their emissions; and 7) invest in bunkering for alternative fuels, such as Ammonia, green methanol, etc.
Reflecting on your career, what achievements are you most proud of in your role at UNCTAD, and what impact do you hope to continue making in the field of trade logistics?
I was lucky that for almost 30 years I could take on a long-term perspective on my work. Many of the things I initiated become more valuable as time passes, as more data and experience becomes available.
I am, for example, proud of the UNCTAD maritime country profiles, which give a three-page overview of every maritime economy. This idea I started in 1995 at the IMO, where we had to target our technical assistance, and I thought that different countries have different requirements. A seminar on STCW is more relevant for the Philippines, while a workshop on FSI should target countries such as Panama, and so on for different conventions and instruments.
I am also proud of the data set on international transport costs, already mentioned above. As I was asked to help countries reduce their transport costs, I thought we better first measure these costs. By the same token, several other knowledge products such as the liner shipping connectivity index and our transport and trade facilitation newsletter have become more valuable over time, as they help see long-term trends and country’s position within the industry.
More recently, I am also proud of the Global Supply Chain Forum we – with a large and amazing team of colleagues – put together in Barbados in May this year. Starting with a blank page, we managed to convene 1000 participants and 100+ partners. This was the first time we had such a high-level and large gathering of the Who-is-Who of global supply chains.
As regards the future, I see ever more potential to benefit from shipping data – including AIS-based statistics – to generate information and KPIs about ports. We can expand our support to ports, identifying more granular performance indicators, and potential for improving operations and processes. Pooling information from partner ports themselves, combined with data obtained from shipping lines and AIS statistics, ports can see where they stand, and we can help invest in reforms, infrastructure, and digitalization.
How do you maintain a healthy balance between your professional and personal life?
Luckily, I do like my job. Thus, I actually don’t use the term “balance”, because this could imply that there are conflicting interests. I’d rather say, how to I maximize synergies between my professional and my personal life.
I like photography, and my work allows me to take photos of ports and border crossings (www.janhoffmann.live). I like reading and listening to audiobooks, and my work allows me to walk to the office (25 minutes) and to the airport (15 minutes), listening to audiobooks or reading books on the plane. I like barbecuing, and once per year I invite all colleagues to a “Happy Hour” on my roof-top terrasse. I like learning about different cultures, and my work allows me to travel and see other countries (140 so far). I do not like going to the hairdresser, but combining the need for hair cuts with an empirical study on GATT and GATS helps reduce the pain (https://janhoffmann.live/2016/04/30/hair-cuts) . You see: No balance – just synergies 😊
Throughout your career, what are the most valuable lessons you’ve learned in your executive role?
I choose my battles.
Whenever possible, I seek consensus. I know I may be wrong. I don’t mind saying that another person is right. I can easily go along with a team’s decision, even if I myself might initially have preferred another path. One of my favourite books is called “What have you changed your mind about” (https://www.edge.org/news/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about). But if I have to fight, I win.
What drives your passion for shipping, and how do you stay motivated in such a demanding role?
Fortunately, our industry is more and more mainstream. For years, or rather, for decades, we have preached the importance of port reforms and trade facilitation and the need for resilient transport systems.
Currently, following supply chain disruptions during Covid, the Ever Given stuck in the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Black Sea and the Panama Canal crisis, and confronted with the need to decarbonize shipping, our topic is at the forefront of public interest.
Thus, I feel that my passion over the years is being corroborated, confirmed, and I expect to continue working on investments and practical solutions for ports and maritime transport until my retirement.
What one piece of advice would you offer to young professionals who aspire to work in trade logistics and international trade policy and work for UNCTAD? How can they best position themselves for success?
First piece of advice: Don’t focus on working for this or that specific organization. Everywhere you will encounter bureaucracies, bullies, and funny office situations.
Second piece of advice: To work in trade and logistics and maritime transport for an international organization – be it the IMO, UN regional commissions, UNCTAD, or the World Bank – it is important to be flexible and open minded, keep continuously abreast of developments, ready to travel, and also speak two or three of the official UN languages. English, French, and Spanish are also the official languages of the WTO, and Arabic, Chinese and Russian the additional official languages at the UN.
Third piece of advice: It is difficult to combine the professional international careers in a partnership. I was very lucky (well: I made a good choice 😊) to fall in love with a teacher of foreign languages, who would move around with me to live in – so far – six different countries.
