He moderated, commented, directed and performed brilliantly as presenter of topics and plenary sessions. We speak here of Chris Notter, Chief Ground Handling Officer at Saudi Airlines Cargo, who led through the programme of the Budapest-held 9th Air Cargo Handling Conference (ACH) with ease and efficiency.
Managing a conference, moderating a panel and keeping the attention of participants high at all times might look for some people like a rather simple undertaking. If so, the person who has given
this impression did everything right. So did Chris.
However, the truth is that it needs intensive mental concentration, a great ability to react flexibly to upcoming disputes and to motivate attendees to raise their voice to present their thoughts
on matters that are being discussed or in case of ambiguities.
Kudos to Chris
All of these abilities can be attributed to Chris Notter who was a central pillar of Budapest’s ACH event and one of the mainstays of its success. He belongs to the species of managers that
deliver very clear messages and who do not shy away from controversies.
Wrapping up things with few words is another strength he has, seen by his introductory remarks when the ACH plenary session on ULD care started: “ULDs and pallets are indispensable for the air
freight industry. They are of high value, should be handled properly and deserve far more attention,” he emphasized. Full stop!
It were precise statements of this kind perfectly orchestrated by him, in this case summarizing the range of subjects tabled by the organizers and discussed between the more than 300 attendees
during the three-day lasting Air Cargo Handling Conference.
Chris was an essential element of ACH’s success
Notable were also his short sequences of questions to panelists after they had presented their key points to the floor. “Tell us three things you would do differently if you’d have to build your
cargo terminal at Helsinki Airport again,” he asked CEO Janne Tarvainen of Finnair Cargo and project manager Uwe Beck of Becon Management Consultants, who jointly presented the merits of Finnair
Cargo’s modular designed new freight terminal to the attendees. The answers Tarvainen and Beck delivered can be skipped here, but when Janne’s reply became a little extravagantly, Chris gently
reminded him to come to the point and deliver right after short explanations to the remaining two issues.
Thanks to this clear discussion and moderation technique, Mr Notter succeeded in keeping to the set time during the entire event. This is also a fine piece of art.
Heiner Siegmund