Interview with Robert Quartey and Aurelie Bocquet from Comexas

12-08-2022

Interview with Robert Quartey and Aurelie Bocquet from Comexas

GNBCC is pleased to share this article on its premium member, Comexas, based on an interview with Commercial Manager Robert Quartey and Country Manager Aurelie Bocquet.

 

Can you tell us about yourself and your journey to becoming Commercial Manager and Country Manager, respectively, of Comexas in Ghana?

R: My name is Robert Quartey and I am half Ghanaian and half Belgian. I moved back to Ghana in 2014 after having lived in Holland for five years. Upon my return I worked with a Dutch management consulting firm for 2 years and after that I joined Comexas in 2017. I started as a project manager in Tema and then a year later moved on to become the general manager of our Takoradi branch which at the time was Comexas Oil & Gas and now Comexas Energy. I was there for three years and last year I came back to Tema and took up the role as Commercial Manager.

 

A: My name is Aurelie Bocquet and I am a French National. I have been working on the African continent for the past 10 years. I am passionate about logistics and spent 5 years working in DR Congo as a Logistics Manager for a major mining company. At the time Comexas was in charge of almost 70% of our imports. I was very satisfied with their services because they were always finding solutions to our logistics problems. I spent three years on a mining site and then decided to go back to a more conventional life so I moved to France to work as a senior supply chain consultant for PwC but I still kept in contact with the management of Comexas. After a while I decided to go back to the African continent and found out that the position of country manager for Comexas Ghana was open, so I contacted the management and got interviewed for this position and now I’ve been in this role for just about a year.

 

What is an accomplishment you are most proud of/What have you been able to achieve so far?

R: One of the things is that I am proud of is that when I started, I was a project manager but that was more admin work and together with management. I discovered how much of our cash flow was stuck in operations which led to cash flow challenges for operations. We had to find ways and put in control measures to push our teams to focus on reducing this amount. It made us more efficient.

I also had the opportunity of working in many different departments of Comexas over the years (commercial, operational, technical, financial). This allows for me to have a helicopter view of all our activities and seeing the consequences of different actions.

A: When I joined Comexas a year ago, I found a company very well-structured and organized but I am proud that I have been able to continue this path and have brought additional processes and reporting into the company. For me, this is an achievement because it allows my manager to have a better view of what is happening in their departments and to make more informed decisions. Secondly, restructuring some departments and working a lot on our commercial department with Robert. This was also good for our clients which now get even more support and customer service.

 

What (else) should our members know about Comexas?

Comexas is a full range logistics service provider and the Ghanaian representative company for Universal Africa Lines, a Dutch shipping line. We have 85 employees but don’t consider ourselves big and because of that we are very accessible and easy access to our country manager. Herself and management are very much involved in all activities and shipments whether large or small. We listen to the needs of our customers and provide tailored solutions and rates. We are also proactive. We have a wide range of customers across different industries such as retail (Shoprite), agriculture (Koudijs), mining sector (Geodrill) etc.

 

How has your experience with GNBCC been so far and what do you expect for the future?

R: I have personally known GNBCC ever since I returned to Ghana. I got almost all my jobs directly or indirectly through GNBCC. In terms of Comexas, being a member has been good for networking and it has opened some doors to business. We are yet to fully optimize the network that GNBCC offers. For the future we look forward to seeing more activities for members.

 

What support do you expect from GNBCC Members and what do you hope to give in return?

A: To all the members I would say not to hesitate to contact us for your logistics. We are always there to advice members for free on shipping and customs clearance. We also have offices in Belgium and can ship from every part of the world through our partners. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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