October 1, 2025 • 47 mins
TMSA’s On the Move Podcast – Featuring Anthony Pagnotto
In this episode, we sit down with Anthony Pagnotto, VP of Global Sales & Marketing at Mohawk Global, to get his take on what’s going on in today’s trade landscape. From supply chain disruptions to shifting tariff regimes, Anthony will share the strategies Mohawk is using to flourish in a volatile environment.
He’ll also give us a preview of his upcoming session at the TMSA Executive Summit, “Thriving in a New Era of Global Trade”, where he’ll outline what companies need to be doing now to stay ahead—whether that’s re-thinking market risk, adapting sales & distribution models, or leaning into new trade relationships.
If you want insights from someone pushing global trade strategy at the intersection of sales, marketing, and supply chain, this is one conversation you won’t want to miss.
Check out the Transportation Sales and Marketing Association (TMSA) website or engage with us on LinkedIn.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:21):
Hello, everyone, and welcome to On the Move, a show
where we share transportation,marketing and sales success
stories.
I am Jennifer Carpis Romain,Executive Director of TMSA, a
trade nonprofit educating andconnecting marketing and sales
professionals in transportationand logistics.
And today on the show, I haveAnthony Pignato, who is VP of
(00:43):
Global Sales and Marketing atMohawk Global.
Welcome back to the show,Anthony.
How are you doing today?
SPEAKER_02 (00:49):
It's exciting.
I'm doing great.
Thank you to have for having me.
The the little intro music thatwe get to listen to like gets me
pumped, gets me hyped, a littlevisual, a little graphic.
It's always a pleasure uh tospeak with you, especially as
the four-time women and supplychain Wonder Woman Award.
(01:10):
Like, my goodness.
Uh, and so before we even start,I'm I'm gonna say uh uh thank
you for everything that you douh for TMSA, for our members,
for our community, uh, andhelping us make a making us a
better place and and and abetter place to learn and
develop and and and meet people.
(01:31):
Uh so thank you.
I'm really excited to be herespecifically because of you.
SPEAKER_00 (01:36):
Well, thank you.
That was so kind and nice andunexpected.
Um, I do what I can, so Iappreciate that.
I also like the intro music andI love that they can't see us
because I dance with it.
SPEAKER_02 (01:51):
I was wondering like, what can I do there?
I was definitely feeling alittle bit of a I was like, can
I sneak a sip of water or tworight now to get ready?
I didn't, so but it's prettycool.
SPEAKER_00 (02:01):
Okay.
I I know that they say it's likebad practice to drink and stuff
when you're on the camera, but Ido anyways, because otherwise
you'll get hoarse and you'llcough and do all the things.
SPEAKER_02 (02:10):
I think you have to, right?
Especially since we don't havelike a bur blur background or
things go invisible and andsuch.
Um I will say I've been doing alot of podcasts lately, which I
really, really like to do and Iappreciate the opportunity to
do.
And and um, and I don't know howyou feel about you've been doing
(02:30):
you've done a lot now.
unknown (02:32):
A lot.
SPEAKER_02 (02:33):
Um they're always a pretty like nerve-wracking
experience to prepare for, youknow, and uh like because you
want to do well.
And um when you get in,especially when I'm talking to
somebody like you, and and andand and and we're chatting,
there it's always so much morerelaxed than it feels like it's
(02:53):
going to be.
Do you have that?
Do you have that feeling too?
SPEAKER_00 (02:56):
Yes, I do think that's true.
And I also, as being on theother side, the interviewer,
that's part of my job is to makepeople feel comfortable.
And one of the things I loveabout on the move is because we
do feature a lot of our members.
And so there's been so many,especially on the marketing
side, of people that at the endthey'll be like, oh, this was my
(03:17):
first podcast ever, and you madeit so comfortable.
And I love that because a lot oftimes, especially on the
marketing side, our job is tolike push our presidents out and
to push our leaders out.
We push them out, they do theinterviews, and we sit in the
corner and make sure that theythey do it, you know?
And so having that ability to beable to interview all different
types of people, all differenttypes of roles, all different
(03:38):
types of perspectives, andmaking people feel comfortable
through that process is one ofthe reasons why I love the
podcast.
And you really do then get thosedifferent perspectives.
And yes, I feel that whether I'mon a podcast and interview or
I'm speaking, it does not matterhow many times I've done it, I
(03:58):
will always be nervous in thatminute.
SPEAKER_02 (04:01):
There is, yeah, like it's true.
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
And then people will be like, How do you feel about
it?
I'm like, I don't know.
I black out.
Like I know cognitively when I'min it and when I'm doing it, I
do it well.
But it's part, especially if I'mon stage, like I practice people
like at elevate will be like, ohmy God, your opening is always
so like passionate and powerful.
How do you feel?
But I'm like, I don't, I don'tknow, I got nothing.
I black out because I practice,practice, practice, so I can
(04:23):
just execute when I'm therebecause if I think too much
about it, I get nervous.
SPEAKER_02 (04:26):
I completely the blackout thing is such a great I
love the way you youcharacterize that.
And you know, I've been in salesa long time, and I would say,
even even in some of my my bestcustomer meetings, right?
Like when you're the mostprepared and the most excited,
there's something autonomouswithin you that kind of takes
(04:49):
over, right?
Which is testament to the key ofpreparation and the depth of
knowledge that you bring intothe conversation.
So it's funny.
SPEAKER_00 (04:56):
Yep, absolutely.
Um, well, I'm glad that you feelcomfortable ready and prepared
to have our chat because we haveall kinds of exciting things to
talk about.
Yeah.
Um, so to kick things off, Imean, how would you characterize
the current state of globaltrade from your vantage point at
(05:16):
Mohawk?
Where do you think the biggestheadwinds are?
Where do you see opportunity?
What's going on?
SPEAKER_02 (05:23):
You know, from our vantage point, global trade is
continuing to undergo strategicrecalibration.
The biggest headwinds areobviously today, geopolitical
instability, uh, regulatoryfragmentation, modal imbalances
across ocean, air, groundtransportation, uncertainty on
(05:48):
carrier um futures, right?
And whether or not uh they'vegot the strength and financial
uh backing to survive a downturnand things like that.
Um but it's not just today.
And part of the conversationthat that I'm having today with
you, and and that I really wantto bring forward in further
(06:12):
conversations is that we've beengoing through this for a long
time.
Global trade has shifted sinceglobal trade has existed.
There have been winners andlosers, there have been
mechanisms that have created uhuh uh opportunities for other
countries to rise and some to uhuh fall as a manufacturing base,
(06:34):
locations.
Um, we're seeing certainly anacceleration with President
Trump um and his uh uh currentadministration's policies.
There's certainly anacceleration of change, but for
most of the good old folks thatare involved in you know
(06:55):
transportation, sales, andmarketing, we've gone through
this before.
Um, and we'll go through itagain.
And so that the change and theheadwinds are are something that
that is real, but you know,through the course of my career,
and I think many in our audiencehave hopefully learned that when
there are headwinds, right,there are opportunities.
(07:17):
The hardest time for me toposition Mohawk Global and
Mohawk Global's value is wheneverybody's just happy, happy,
happy, happy with everythingthat they've got going on,
right?
Uh it's really hard.
Um, we we sell by solvingproblems, and there have been
stagnant times when therehaven't been many problems in
trade, not lately, right?
(07:38):
But um, there have been timesand those are harder to sell.
Uh but right now, if you look atthe opportunities, I think we're
seeing a bigger focus onregionalized supply chains,
North America, cross-bordertrade, US and Mexico, right?
A lot of emerging marketsstepping into the roles
previously held by thetraditional manufacturing
(08:02):
powerhouses that you know of,you know, and we'll talk a
little bit about that.
But off the cuff, I think about,you know, North Africa, I think
about Central America, I thinkabout uh, you know, India was
one that we've talked about fora long time.
It's going through a littlehiccup of its own right now.
Um, but uh that we're seeing uhemerging uh uh markets and we're
(08:22):
seeing our clients faceregulatory challenges that
they've never faced before,which has made us more valuable
than ever, right?
So, so so the combination todouble-edged sword, um, on the
one hand, the headwinds cause meto lose sleep at night.
Um, and and honestly, and I'llsay this, uh, and I want to say
(08:45):
it right now, like publicly onthe record, I say it for
everyone.
Uh if you are a customsbrokerage professional in the
United States right now, if youknow a customs brokerage
professional in the UnitedStates right now, give yourself
or give each other or go givethem a hug.
It is, it is the ever everybodyin this business has their day,
(09:06):
whether it's air, freight, uh,you know, truckload procurement,
right?
Right now, the the customsbrokerage uh uh uh folks are
having and trade policy folksare having an amazing time, an
amazingly challenging timeacross the country, keeping up
just with the volume of of workthat they have.
And that that's because of theexpertise that they bring to the
(09:29):
table, which is what our clientsneed at the moment and what
continues to createopportunities.
So give a customs broker a hug.
I'm gonna make that bumpersticker.
SPEAKER_00 (09:41):
So sounds like a great sticker, bumper sticker,
put it on your computer, put iton your water bottle.
I need to share the love.
Yeah, for sure, for sure.
And how are you seeing recentchanges, the tear-ups, the
regulations, the supply chaindisruptions?
How are they really forcingcompanies to rethink their
global sales and tradestrategies?
(10:03):
And kind of what is Mohawk doingthen?
SPEAKER_02 (10:05):
We're back on the yo-yo, right?
This is uh this is somethingthat we go through in this
industry.
Uh procurement and logisticsfunctions in our clients and and
in importers specifically, um,but but also uh most major
businesses, manufacturers andsuch in the United States uh are
(10:27):
seeing now uh transportation,supply chain, procurement,
logistics, the whole shebangcome back out of the back office
and become a strategic priority.
Obviously, rethinking sourcing,compliance, and distribution
strategies.
Um we're seeing the people thatwe work with and our partners
(10:53):
reassess how they manage andwhat they expect from their
transportation customs brokerageproviders, um, and and a big
push to continue to buildresilience into uh uh their
transportation and and and andsourcing networks.
Um the challenge is, and I andI've I've talked about this
(11:16):
before, and I'll continue totalk about it, is that this
happens all the time.
You know, and it's it's I it Ithink it's who we are, and I say
we, I mean the human condition,I guess, right?
Like it's it's who we are as aas a world, as a society, um,
(11:36):
that we focus attention on wherethe pain is at the moment, uh,
and then it changes.
But uh, you know, I think I saidon the last podcast that during
COVID supply chain bull whipchallenges, right?
I saw more front office CFO, CEOinvolvement and supporting and
(12:02):
working with the logistics sideof their businesses than I had
ever seen in my life, right?
And it was much more than a costconversation at that point, it
was a customer service.
And how do I get my goods tomarket conversation and what are
the strategies?
And I told everyone that as soonas the ocean rates fall back
down and the truck rates fallback down, uh, you know, that
(12:25):
that will disappear.
And it did, and it did.
And I saw some great, greatinitiatives put together by some
great logisticians and some justgreat supply chain teams at our
clients and the clients thatwe're not dealing with.
I saw some great initiatives tobuild stability and and and
predictability into their modelthat would be helping them
today.
I saw those initiatives getrolled back, canceled, and uh uh
(12:49):
all in the in the cost ofchasing uh uh you know savings,
only for now um the opportunityto re-emerge, to reassess.
And again, um depending on howlong this lasts, depending on
you know the this disruption andthis uh you know, we don't know
what's gonna happen.
(13:09):
Um there's a court case comingup uh in November where the
Supreme Court's gonna heararguments and rule on the the
constitutionality of AIVA.
Um I can't I'm gonna give you mymy thought, um, and it's just
based on this what we've seenthe Supreme Court do.
(13:29):
Uh, I don't believe there's anyway on this planet that they
will that they will find thesetariffs unconstitutional.
I don't I'm not gonna make alegal argument.
I'm just you know, there seemsto be a a direction that the
government is marching right nowin sort of unison.
But if they were to be foundunconstitutional, right, and and
we would have some immediaterelief, or if in the midterms
(13:50):
there's a there's a party changeor you know, what have you, and
I I can't even begin to pretendto understand or or know what's
gonna happen, or these headwindscalm down, and then all these
great initiatives that we'reseeing our customers work
through and and and build ondisappear again.
And you know, that I thinkthat's the challenge for our
clients and for Mohawk is issupporting the building of
(14:12):
long-term strategies that thatum that will get our clients
through the next decade becausethe next next disruption's
coming.
That's it's inevitable, right?
SPEAKER_00 (14:27):
So, in your role, you oversee you know global
sales and marketing, obviouslytalk a lot about trade and all
of that.
So I'm curious because I feellike a lot of times when we
think about marketing, it's kindof like the softer version of
revenue.
People just talk about theimportance of sales in it.
But how do you see thatmarketing function kind of
evolving in response to the newtrade realities and being able
(14:50):
to help execute the bottom linefor companies?
SPEAKER_02 (14:56):
Marketing, and I I hope my marketing team hears
this uh because they do such afantastic job of this and
they're so proud uh of what theydo.
They are a strategic enabler,they're on the front lines,
right?
They are the key to helping usfind and deliver market
(15:17):
intelligence that our that ourclients need uh to help uh uh
drive client education, right?
Um, and to demonstrate to ourclients before they ever talk to
us, why Mohawk Global is theright provider for them.
And there is so much movementright now.
(15:38):
And if you start thinking aboutwhat's going on in the truckload
market and the LTL market, andyou start thinking about what's
going on from a trade policypoint of view and what's going
on with ocean rates out of outof India uh to the southeast
United States, there are so manypieces of information out there
that it's impossible.
(15:59):
The best sales rep in the world,right?
You know, it isn't going to beable to understand, work with,
and and bring solutions uh tothe clientele for all of those
at any given time.
And and marketing has thatability, that breadth and and
and and scope to take thosetopics, create content,
(16:21):
demonstrate um where we addvalue in in a potential
prospects world, um, and thenhelps us harness um uh the
potential, you know, thepotential leads and such that
comes from that.
But there is no betterdisseminator of of news and
(16:43):
information that matters thanthan the marketing teams right
now.
And goodness, they're busy,they're busy at the moment,
right?
Um I think they also work hardto help our clients understand
the value of integratedservices, right?
Uh making sure that we'recombining customs brokerage,
ground transportation, oceanfreight, right?
(17:05):
Um, and and then again, wealways have to say it, but then
prove it.
There's never been a betteropportunity to generate case
studies and white papers of whatyour company has done to help
clients get through thestruggles.
Again, every every headwind,every every every problem is an
opportunity.
(17:25):
It's cliche, I know, but itreally is in this business uh to
solve a problem and then do itagain and scale it for more
clients.
But you have to be able todemonstrate uh the success and
and and what you've done uh uhin the past uh to bring more uh
potential clients into theorganization.
(17:46):
So our marketing team isamazing, amazing.
SPEAKER_00 (17:51):
I I agree.
I think that um things aremoving really fast and showing
that you are staying up to datewith what's going on, that
you're paying attention to allof the pieces, and then yes, how
can you actually help yourcustomers is really important.
And I do think that that's wheremarketing comes into play.
(18:11):
They're able, like you said,there's case studies, this is
what we're doing.
These are our communicationstrategies for how we are
delivering information to ourcustomers, our prospects, and
even if it's your marketing teamor your internal comms team,
this is how we're explaining toour team what's going on and
what they need to know and whatthey should be sharing and what
you know, what is ourdifferentiator?
Well, if you're paying attentionand you're able to really
(18:33):
explain what's going on to yourcustomer in a way that makes
sense for them and theirbusiness, so important.
SPEAKER_01 (18:38):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (18:40):
So we are really excited to have you be one of
our speakers at the upcomingTMSA Executive Summit
Conference, which will beOctober 22nd through the 23rd in
Chicago.
And you are presenting Thrivingin a New Era of Global Trade.
Anyone that is listening to theshow, we are giving a show
(19:02):
discount.
If you go to events.tmsatoday.org, you can use the code
on the payment link, move tosummit 10 to get a 10% discount.
But I wanted to talk to youabout your session.
We were so excited when yousubmitted for this.
You are a longtime TMSAsupporter and board member, but
you know, we've gotten you tomoderate panels on the stage.
(19:22):
But this will be, I think, thefirst time that you are
presenting as a you know a solopresenter.
So we're really excited to haveyou.
Obviously, you're really wellversed in all things global
trade.
And what are some of the keythings you hope to cover as
we're now a month out?
So things can change and soquickly, as we just said.
But yeah, what do we have tocover?
SPEAKER_02 (19:44):
There was a there was a truth social post last
night that was like a punch inthe nose to a lot of our
clients, and and and and so uhit does change rapidly.
But the point of this, and Ithink the point of the
conversation, which I'mextremely excited, like I I
can't wait to get up and blackout on stage as we um uh and you
guys, how'd it go?
SPEAKER_00 (20:05):
I'll be right there with you.
SPEAKER_02 (20:07):
How do you do that?
SPEAKER_01 (20:07):
Right, how did I do?
SPEAKER_02 (20:09):
Um uh, you know, there's we're we're going to
pull lessons from the past,right?
We're going again.
I've I will keep saying it andI'll stop saying it on this
podcast just so you don't haveto you know get tired of it, but
I will continue to say in myconversations out there.
We've been here before.
Um, we'll be here again.
(20:29):
This is nothing new, and I'mgonna demonstrate that.
We're gonna have a we're gonnahave a conversation.
We're gonna have, you know,since since since the first the
first human traded uh a berryfor a for a uh a rock.
I I don't know what it was,right?
There has been some sort ofdisruption when the other guy
next to him wanted a differentberry.
Like there's you know, this thisstuff has happened since the
(20:50):
beginning of time.
And what I really want toexplore is how freight
forwarders and truck brokersneed to prepare themselves for
the long term, right?
There's both a long term, um uhand how they can involve their
models to stay competitive.
Uh, when I talk about the longterm, you know, we've seen a lot
(21:12):
of smaller truck brokers come inand out of the market rapidly,
which is if that's theirstrategy, come in, make a buck
while while it while thegetting's good, so be it.
You know, if the strategy is toopen a business when the
market's hot and make it for thelong haul, right?
There's conversations that needto have about cash and
(21:33):
investment and other things.
Um, and then how do we evolve tostay competitive?
I think the key themes thereare, and I've mentioned it
before, the rise of regionaltrade flows and how to take
advantage of those, right?
Integrated services, the theabsolute importance of being an
(21:55):
integrated service provider.
Um, the need to diversify, youknow, um, many of us, uh, and
that's an exercise we're goingthrough right now at Mohawk, is
continuing to diversify not onlyour service offerings, but our
geographic spaces, right?
And I think our multinationalcompetitors have done have that
(22:16):
down just based on their scale,right?
But for many of the to small tomid-sized businesses that are
involved with TMSA, it's alittle bit more of a daunting
challenge.
And we can talk through, we'lltalk through some of the some of
the some of the ways to do thathappen make that happen.
And then and then agility,right?
Um, agility is is money, youknow, um, and and um we have to
(22:40):
both balance setting a course umin terms of vision and goals
that we can that we can meet andthat we will meet regardless of
changes, right?
Um, and then we have to maintainthe flexibility and and and and
(23:03):
uh agility to pivot rightquickly and strategically
respond to things thatopportunities that present
themselves or challenges thatthat face our customers.
And so it's a it'll be a fairlyuh comprehensive overlook at
that, and I'll bring some reallife things that we've done at
(23:23):
Mohawk, and I'll bring some reallife things that I'd wish we'd
done, like lessons learned,right?
And uh so so I'm I'm excited toshare that, and I hope everybody
takes advantage of the discountcode.
SPEAKER_00 (23:35):
Yes, shop register for executive summit, join us in
Chicago.
SPEAKER_02 (23:40):
Come see me see me in my hometown.
My wife is gonna come see this.
Excellent.
SPEAKER_00 (23:48):
So you can use the code MOVE2Summit 10 when you
register for executivesummitevents.tmsa today.org.
We're so excited for Anthony totake this this stage as one of
our speakers.
We have Nicole Glenn um as ourkeynote speaker right before
him.
We have a shippers panel that'sfeaturing uh Misubishi Power,
um, Kihi Distributors, andGoogle.
(24:09):
And we have a commercial growthpanel.
We have great discussions, andthen we actually recently
announced an optional add-onlocal networking event with the
Traffic Club of Chicago thatwill be an inclusive leadership
event.
So we have all kinds of excitingthings going on in Chicago for
Executive Summit and veryexcited for you to take the
state.
Yay!
SPEAKER_02 (24:30):
Yeah, and look, uh nothing would impress my wife
more, uh, who does not still tothis day really understand what
we do in this business becauseit's not normal, right?
And that's her fault.
That's my fault, not her fault.
Um slip there.
I may not be able to go hometonight.
Um, but it would be very nice tosee standing room only
(24:54):
attendance for this for thispresentation, for this blackout
moment.
So perfect.
SPEAKER_00 (24:59):
Love that.
And hope to see everybody there.
Yeah, you are such a wealth ofknowledge, really excited.
Do you have a few more questionsfor you um today to give people
uh more teasers of your breadthof knowledge?
So, how do you approach riskmitigation in global trade?
So, like, are there tools, arethere partnerships, are there
(25:20):
practices?
What are kind of thosemust-haves, right?
SPEAKER_02 (25:23):
All the above, right?
All the above.
It's it's a holistic approach.
It's it's obviously visibility.
And when I say visibility, it'snot only visibility tools, it's
visibility to what's going on inthe market.
It's talking to your clients,talking to your prospects,
right?
It's diversification,diversification.
And and you know, uh, one of thelast shipper panels we were on
uh that I was uh that I was on,we have we have a we have a
(25:46):
member uh and they have likeeight customers and they have
that locked down and it's agreat market.
They probably don't need todiversify, right?
They're in this really coolniche space.
That was an awesome shipper'spanel.
Um, but for everybody else whohas not completely locked down
this niche, like you've got todiversify, right?
Strong partnerships, right?
The the the fly by nighttransactional partners can be
(26:11):
useful at times, right?
If if and I say fly by night, Ihope that doesn't imply like
sketchy, right?
But like, you know, from arelationship point of view,
quick relationships, if you canfind mutually beneficial
opportunities to work withsomebody once or twice, that's
great.
But the deep, meaningfulpartnerships that you build
(26:31):
today, tomorrow, and hopefully20 years ago, right, are the are
the partnerships that are goingto sustain you and help you uh
uh diversify and drive and buildinto other markets, right?
And and so I think that that'sthat's important, right?
(26:52):
Um, so a strong degree ofcollaboration, um a thought
about, and I think this getslost in our business a lot.
Um, not a what's in it for meattitude, but what's in it for
this partnership when we starttaking on new clients or
(27:12):
businesses, you know, um globaltrade specifically is very
fragmented, right?
Domestic trucking brokerage isfragmented.
There's a lot of conversationgoing on about rate transparency
and the ideas that that um youknow that that truck drivers,
truck operators, you know, uhdon't have enough or aren't
(27:34):
seeing how much money is beingmade on their labor.
And we need to be fair partnersin all of this.
And and and there's somecompanies out there that have
the reputation as maybe beingless fair than others, and and
and we don't believe that that'sa that that is a survivable
long-term strategy for the typeof business that we want to be,
(27:57):
right?
Um smarter, faster decisionmaking, technology, technology,
technology.
We've been preaching it for 30years now, and it's it's never
going to stop uh being a majorconversation.
And um uh and and more thanthat, the integration uh of
everything and to singleinstance visibility platforms
(28:18):
for both your clients andinternal decision making, right?
So uh unified view, the utopiaof uh supply chain.
SPEAKER_00 (28:28):
Absolutely.
Um, so you touched on this alittle bit, just like there is
shifts in global trade flows.
So like regions are rising andyou know, some are falling in
relevance, there's new tradeagreements, all this stuff
that's going on.
So, how do you determine whereto invest or where to expand?
Are there certain criteria orsignals that you watch to make
(28:50):
those choices?
SPEAKER_02 (28:51):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
It's a it's an everyday, it's aneveryday part of the business,
right?
Um, and in fact, before this, umbefore we hit record, I sent to
my fellow executive leadershipteam, uh, some of them, we're
(29:11):
doing some vision work rightnow, some planning, a list of
markets, right?
A list of freight markets uhthat we should be paying
attention to.
And that information comes fromtalking to our existing clients,
right?
What are they doing?
First and foremost, we've got tobe talking to our clients.
(29:32):
We have to understand what theirthree-year and five-year
strategies are for building andgrowing their business.
Um, and we have to be a partnerin supporting that, right?
Um, it shouldn't be a one on oneconversation, it should be a
mutually beneficial conversationwhere we're talking together uh
uh about support.
(29:54):
Uh, on top of that, I mean,we're looking at the
macroeconomic indicators, we'relooking at At trade agreements.
We're looking at infrastructuredevelopment, political
stability.
Along with political stability,becomes ease of doing business,
right?
Regulatory framework, regulatoryenvironment, regional
(30:15):
specialization, I think isimportant in key commodities,
right?
We're seeing a substantial shiftin the garment and textile move
from some traditional places,China and South Asia to North
Africa, right?
(30:36):
As there's been heavy investmentmade in those areas.
Can they take advantage of thoseshifts into Africa, right?
(31:12):
Synthesis, is that the rightword?
Did I say that right?
Of the information that we getbombarded with and a best
prediction uh of where thingsare going to move and where
companies are going to sourcefrom and deliver to and
distribute from in the future.
SPEAKER_00 (31:30):
So and do you see like sustainability or ethical
sourcing playing into thosesales and trade strategy?
SPEAKER_02 (31:38):
Oh, I know you want me to say yes.
And I know you do.
SPEAKER_00 (31:41):
You can't answer.
SPEAKER_02 (31:44):
No, and it's it's weird, you know, it goes back to
it's one of those things thatthat I don't know that I've ever
lost a piece of business.
First of all, I I want to state,and I think it's important that
I state that um Mohawk and ourclients know that Mohawk will
(32:12):
not take advantage ofquestionable situations.
Um as an organization, ourvalues are such that you know we
don't look to uh uh get aroundrules, we don't get to look to
get around regulations, right?
(32:32):
Uh we want to uh be on the upand up, we want to be fair.
Uh and again, we want we want towork in a world where our
company and our our customersand their suppliers and the
employees that work for themthrive.
And those are the types ofcustomers that we do business
first and foremost with, right?
Like we're not we have a I don'tknow if it's a hard line because
(32:56):
it's hard to, but like we we wedon't do business with companies
that we think don't meet theethical mark.
So there is a filter on ourside, and once we get through
that, and like once weunderstand that in general we're
both reasonably ethicalorganizations, that's where I
(33:17):
come back and say, I've neverI've never seen us lose a piece
of business because we didn'twrite the correct ESG statement
in our RFQ response, right?
And as much as you know, as muchas look, I'm a an avid
outdoorsman.
I so I'll take I'll take climatechange as one that you know, and
(33:40):
again, I don't want to get intothe politics of it and and and
things like that, but uh as afisherman, somebody who's
outside a lot, right, I've seenchanges and and and and what
goes on in the world.
So I want nothing more than fora company to come in and and and
say, hey, we we want theall-electric fleet, right?
Or uh and I know now we'll getbombasted saying, well, the
(34:04):
electric still comes from coal,like whatever, right?
Um, but I want the companiesthat we work with to choose the
green alternatives and thingslike that.
Mohawk can offer those.
I just don't see it drivingbusiness decisions at the and
and and I'm sure it does forsome some brands, right?
(34:26):
But for the most part, I thinkthat there's an assumption
between us and our clients thatwe're acting in an ethical and
responsible manner.
Um, and and once you kind ofcross that threshold, we don't
see as much diving into thedetails as as um as maybe as
maybe we once expected, right?
(34:46):
I was at a PM conference maybetwo through two or three years
ago, where they they talkedabout environmental
sustainability a lot, right?
And and then uh again, maybethat's one of those initiatives
that ebbs and flows,unfortunately, uh, or ebbs and
flows based on other priorities.
(35:07):
If you're worried about, hey,all of a sudden I can't
manufacture my product uh inIndia because there's now a 50%
tariff, right, instead of the25.
And you've got mouths to feed atyour business, right?
You've got people that rely onyou, families that rely on you.
Maybe ESG and and yourcommitment to the environment
(35:30):
takes a step back.
So, like right now, I thinkthere's a lot of companies in
survival mode, which yeah, I'mnot thrilled to say, but right.
SPEAKER_00 (35:39):
I mean, I think it's one of those things that for
yeah, like if if you don't wantit to affect your bottom line,
and but if if you can't survive,then it can become a nice to
have instead of a must-have.
Absolutely, and so that justmight be where people are in the
market today because there's somany other factors that they
have to consider.
SPEAKER_02 (36:00):
Absolutely.
I I think that's where we are,and and and and I think just
like I've I've spoken about thebest laid logistics and supply
chain management plans, taking abackseat and times of, you know,
I think we say the same thing,go back and forth with ESG.
(36:22):
And uh hopefully it hopefullyit's uh, but you gotta, there's
gotta be a base standard toplay, at least with at least
with a company like Mohawk.
SPEAKER_00 (36:30):
And for smaller exporters or companies that are
kind of less embedded withglobal trade right now, do you
have advice for them as theybegin to start to adapt to this
new era without overextending?
Because yes, there's a lot ofthings to consider going on
right now.
SPEAKER_02 (36:45):
Simplicity and reliability, right?
Um don't overextend, focus onwhat you can do and what you can
do well, and build on it onebrick at a time, right?
Is it one region?
Is it one lane?
Is it one new hire that's goingto bring the expertise into your
organization to do somethingdifferent, right?
(37:07):
There's a lot of providers outthere that that partner um
together to provide bundledsolutions.
Um we work with a tremendousdistribution partner.
Mohawk's not a we're not adistribution organization, and
we work with a tremendous uhdistribution partner to to
introduce each other into uhclientele and and and and you
(37:30):
know just try to help each othergrow our business, right?
Uh as a mutually beneficialpartnership.
And there's a lot of thatavailable out there, right?
Um I think building into theprocess today, and a lot of
Mohawk has fallen into it atsome, and though we're doing a
great job writing it right now,and I'm I'm really pumped about
(37:53):
it.
Um, but a lot of the largefreight forwarders, a lot of
people who have been around fora long time, have systems that I
bet they wish they could go backand build with today's
technology today.
So don't skimp in that, right?
Where there's an opportunity tobuild automation, right?
(38:14):
Um uh utilize I you know,specifically I like the AI
agents.
I don't want to talk about AI asa whole.
I get a little, it's a littleout of my realm, but you know,
the AI, AA workflows, AI agents,and building that in and and
making sure that as they'reoutsourcing, I think a big piece
is don't fall into a tech debtthat that you know you find
(38:35):
yourself in 15 down years downthe road with a with a with a
nice you know growing businessand an investment in technology
that you have to make that isnot sustainable for your
organization.
We've seen really good companieshave to sell because of that in
the past in the sector.
So so main maintaining even ifthe investments are small and
(38:58):
even if you're not growing atthe pace you want to grow, I
think a smart, leveraged growthplan with the accompanying
built-in and technology is andand and and and visibility and
automation is the way to go.
That answer your question, wasthat good?
SPEAKER_00 (39:16):
It does, it does.
And then looking forward, whatare you most optimistic about?
Are there emerging trends,underdog regions, innovations?
I know we talked a little bitabout innovations there um
throughout the past couplequestions, but anything specific
that you think could reallyshape how global trade works in
like the next five years?
SPEAKER_02 (39:36):
I'm I'm really pumped about the continuing
integration of trade servicesand the different trade
ecosystems that we're seeing popup for both organizations like
Mohawk and our clients to manageuh at a high level and quickly
uh the the rules and regulationsand data and such.
(39:58):
So there's a I think there's alot there.
I mentioned it before, but AIagents specifically to routine,
you know, uh Mohawk Global.
Um I'm gonna I'll plug us here.
We have the best, mostknowledgeable people for your
business.
Everybody else has good onestoo, but not quite as good as
(40:19):
ours.
Um, and we'd like to have themspeaking to our customers about
what's going on, not um notbeing involved in data processes
that can be automated, uh uhroutine transactions.
We want them solving thechallenges, right?
(40:39):
And we want them talking to ourclients and and delivering
value.
And so I think that's the AIdefinitely has a place.
The AI innovation integration uhis exciting.
And for me, for me, the thecoolest thing continues to be
(40:59):
the rise of new regions and theimportance of new regions in
global supply chain.
You know, um, I mentioned thison a lot a lot of podcasts I've
done, probably the last one wedid together, but it's worth
mentioning again.
Um in the first half of mycareer, I went to China
(41:20):
regularly, right?
And and I and I've enjoyed it, II love it.
It's been a it was always afantastic experience.
Unfortunately, um only because II enjoy the experience so much,
I don't I don't go, I haven'tbeen in a long time.
I spent a lot of time in India,I spent a lot of time uh uh and
(41:43):
other kind of Sri Lanka is one.
When I when I give thispresentation that we talk about,
I'm leaving and I'm getting on aplane to Bangladesh, right?
Um, which for somebody like mewho's got the travel bug and the
culture bug and the like kind ofget out of my comfort zone is is
something that's fantastic, butthe business possibilities and
the growth possibilities arehuge.
(42:05):
And you know, the rise ofAfrica, um uh as a as a as a
specifically in the garment andtextile area that we're looking
in, one of one of the verticalsthat we work in, you know, I
didn't I've always wonderedlike, would there be a business
reason for me to get over toAfrica?
I want to go.
Like, I've had travel.
(42:26):
I almost the last flight I tookto Germany, I almost took
Morocco air out of Chicago justso I could stop in Morocco for
like two days.
My wife would be upset uh if Iwas just like, hey, I'm taking a
weekend vacation and you know,it's not tied to work.
So I didn't, I didn't I didn'tdo it.
Uh but now on the horizon,Ethiopia is not out of the
question, right?
Kenya is not out of thequestion.
(42:47):
Um, and and we're doing businessout of those out of those
regions.
Uh, and so continuing tocapitalize and and on on you
know, Central America has hasbeen a strong supplier, but how
will they grow?
Um, and and really watching howthose regions will continue to
invest in their infrastructureand their their manufacturing
(43:07):
capacity, manufacturing acumen,and and see how they're poised
to become important players inthe supply chains of tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00 (43:16):
Well, thank you so much for all of that insight.
Always enjoy talking about it.
SPEAKER_02 (43:21):
I hope it was insight if I blocked out.
Was it?
SPEAKER_00 (43:23):
I told you.
Me too.
No, I listened because I wasasking the question.
So it's not smart to me,Anthony.
SPEAKER_01 (43:30):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (43:30):
But if anyone watches the show regularly, you
know I have a question that Iask everybody, but I have a
question that I ask people whocome on for a second time as
well.
So you get a new end question,and that's if you could go back
in time and relive any day ofyour life, what would it be and
why?
SPEAKER_02 (43:55):
Are we excluding the obvious ones like um the birth
of my children?
And and and uh for me, it wouldbe the day I married my wife.
SPEAKER_00 (44:05):
You are the first person to say that, which I
think is lovely.
I don't think we have to excludethe big days.
For me, we're I like I whenpeople okay, I love my son more
than anything in the world.
The actual giving birth processisn't great, it's not a great
experience, it hurts.
SPEAKER_02 (44:22):
I was on the golf course smoking cigars.
That's that's what we'resupposed to do, right?
No, I'm right, exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (44:27):
I am it's like, of course, I love the sweet baby at
the end, everything is worth it.
But I'm like, if I'm reliving aday, can I have the day after?
No, it's the moment, right?
SPEAKER_02 (44:36):
It's the moment when you first hold them, right?
And and and and so for me it itwould be marrying my wife, who
has been an amazing ride or diepartner who has enabled me to go
on this tremendous adventure inthis wacky business that has
kept me extremely busy somedays, right?
(44:57):
Extreme at work, and and I missstuff because of this business
and the fact that it's 24.
And I know I'm speaking to allof you guys out there in this
business.
We miss stuff, uh, you know, anduh uh and it takes a tremendous
partner uh uh and somebody whowho understands you and what
(45:18):
you're trying to do.
Uh uh and so the marriage, my mymy marrying my wife, the birth
of my children, and then uh Iwould I would say um the day I
joined Mohawk, um uh I just hituh seven years and you get this
(45:39):
flood of things on on LinkedIn,you know, this flood of
reminders and so many wonderfulpeople.
I was at C.
H.
Robinson prior to that, and somany wonderful memories and and
things like that.
But the opportunity to come toan organization that gave me the
opportunity to try so manydifferent things um and work
with so many wonderful peopleand and uh uh with core values
(46:02):
that I believe in and and andand and fight for and and will
stand behind.
So I've gotta I've gotta throwthat into the pile.
There's a lot of days.
There's a lot of days.
SPEAKER_00 (46:13):
Well, I love that.
And if you want to join me andAnthony on another great day,
you will register for executivesummit at events.tmsa today.org.
You can use the discount codeMOVE2Summit10 to get a 10%
discount off of registration.
But thank you so much, Anthony,for coming on the show and for
(46:34):
speaking at Summit.
We are so excited to have you.
And it's been a pleasurespeaking to you.
SPEAKER_02 (46:38):
This was awesome.
I loved it.
You are the best podcast host inthe world.
Relaxing, cool.
Say hello to your mom.
She can ask me now.
SPEAKER_00 (46:50):
Have a good one.
SPEAKER_02 (46:51):
Take care.
Bye bye.
Hello, everyone, and welcome to On the Move, a show
where we share transportation,marketing and sales success
stories.
I am Jennifer Carpis Romain,Executive Director of TMSA, a
trade nonprofit educating andconnecting marketing and sales
professionals in transportationand logistics.
And today on the show, I haveAnthony Pignato, who is VP of
(00:43):
Global Sales and Marketing atMohawk Global.
Welcome back to the show,Anthony.
How are you doing today?
SPEAKER_02 (00:49):
It's exciting.
I'm doing great.
Thank you to have for having me.
The the little intro music thatwe get to listen to like gets me
pumped, gets me hyped, a littlevisual, a little graphic.
It's always a pleasure uh tospeak with you, especially as
the four-time women and supplychain Wonder Woman Award.
(01:10):
Like, my goodness.
Uh, and so before we even start,I'm I'm gonna say uh uh thank
you for everything that you douh for TMSA, for our members,
for our community, uh, andhelping us make a making us a
better place and and and abetter place to learn and
develop and and and meet people.
(01:31):
Uh so thank you.
I'm really excited to be herespecifically because of you.
SPEAKER_00 (01:36):
Well, thank you.
That was so kind and nice andunexpected.
Um, I do what I can, so Iappreciate that.
I also like the intro music andI love that they can't see us
because I dance with it.
SPEAKER_02 (01:51):
I was wondering like, what can I do there?
I was definitely feeling alittle bit of a I was like, can
I sneak a sip of water or tworight now to get ready?
I didn't, so but it's prettycool.
SPEAKER_00 (02:01):
Okay.
I I know that they say it's likebad practice to drink and stuff
when you're on the camera, but Ido anyways, because otherwise
you'll get hoarse and you'llcough and do all the things.
SPEAKER_02 (02:10):
I think you have to, right?
Especially since we don't havelike a bur blur background or
things go invisible and andsuch.
Um I will say I've been doing alot of podcasts lately, which I
really, really like to do and Iappreciate the opportunity to
do.
And and um, and I don't know howyou feel about you've been doing
(02:30):
you've done a lot now.
unknown (02:32):
A lot.
SPEAKER_02 (02:33):
Um they're always a pretty like nerve-wracking
experience to prepare for, youknow, and uh like because you
want to do well.
And um when you get in,especially when I'm talking to
somebody like you, and and andand and and we're chatting,
there it's always so much morerelaxed than it feels like it's
(02:53):
going to be.
Do you have that?
Do you have that feeling too?
SPEAKER_00 (02:56):
Yes, I do think that's true.
And I also, as being on theother side, the interviewer,
that's part of my job is to makepeople feel comfortable.
And one of the things I loveabout on the move is because we
do feature a lot of our members.
And so there's been so many,especially on the marketing
side, of people that at the endthey'll be like, oh, this was my
(03:17):
first podcast ever, and you madeit so comfortable.
And I love that because a lot oftimes, especially on the
marketing side, our job is tolike push our presidents out and
to push our leaders out.
We push them out, they do theinterviews, and we sit in the
corner and make sure that theythey do it, you know?
And so having that ability to beable to interview all different
types of people, all differenttypes of roles, all different
(03:38):
types of perspectives, andmaking people feel comfortable
through that process is one ofthe reasons why I love the
podcast.
And you really do then get thosedifferent perspectives.
And yes, I feel that whether I'mon a podcast and interview or
I'm speaking, it does not matterhow many times I've done it, I
(03:58):
will always be nervous in thatminute.
SPEAKER_02 (04:01):
There is, yeah, like it's true.
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
And then people will be like, How do you feel about
it?
I'm like, I don't know.
I black out.
Like I know cognitively when I'min it and when I'm doing it, I
do it well.
But it's part, especially if I'mon stage, like I practice people
like at elevate will be like, ohmy God, your opening is always
so like passionate and powerful.
How do you feel?
But I'm like, I don't, I don'tknow, I got nothing.
I black out because I practice,practice, practice, so I can
(04:23):
just execute when I'm therebecause if I think too much
about it, I get nervous.
SPEAKER_02 (04:26):
I completely the blackout thing is such a great I
love the way you youcharacterize that.
And you know, I've been in salesa long time, and I would say,
even even in some of my my bestcustomer meetings, right?
Like when you're the mostprepared and the most excited,
there's something autonomouswithin you that kind of takes
(04:49):
over, right?
Which is testament to the key ofpreparation and the depth of
knowledge that you bring intothe conversation.
So it's funny.
SPEAKER_00 (04:56):
Yep, absolutely.
Um, well, I'm glad that you feelcomfortable ready and prepared
to have our chat because we haveall kinds of exciting things to
talk about.
Yeah.
Um, so to kick things off, Imean, how would you characterize
the current state of globaltrade from your vantage point at
(05:16):
Mohawk?
Where do you think the biggestheadwinds are?
Where do you see opportunity?
What's going on?
SPEAKER_02 (05:23):
You know, from our vantage point, global trade is
continuing to undergo strategicrecalibration.
The biggest headwinds areobviously today, geopolitical
instability, uh, regulatoryfragmentation, modal imbalances
across ocean, air, groundtransportation, uncertainty on
(05:48):
carrier um futures, right?
And whether or not uh they'vegot the strength and financial
uh backing to survive a downturnand things like that.
Um but it's not just today.
And part of the conversationthat that I'm having today with
you, and and that I really wantto bring forward in further
(06:12):
conversations is that we've beengoing through this for a long
time.
Global trade has shifted sinceglobal trade has existed.
There have been winners andlosers, there have been
mechanisms that have created uhuh uh opportunities for other
countries to rise and some to uhuh fall as a manufacturing base,
(06:34):
locations.
Um, we're seeing certainly anacceleration with President
Trump um and his uh uh currentadministration's policies.
There's certainly anacceleration of change, but for
most of the good old folks thatare involved in you know
(06:55):
transportation, sales, andmarketing, we've gone through
this before.
Um, and we'll go through itagain.
And so that the change and theheadwinds are are something that
that is real, but you know,through the course of my career,
and I think many in our audiencehave hopefully learned that when
there are headwinds, right,there are opportunities.
(07:17):
The hardest time for me toposition Mohawk Global and
Mohawk Global's value is wheneverybody's just happy, happy,
happy, happy with everythingthat they've got going on,
right?
Uh it's really hard.
Um, we we sell by solvingproblems, and there have been
stagnant times when therehaven't been many problems in
trade, not lately, right?
(07:38):
But um, there have been timesand those are harder to sell.
Uh but right now, if you look atthe opportunities, I think we're
seeing a bigger focus onregionalized supply chains,
North America, cross-bordertrade, US and Mexico, right?
A lot of emerging marketsstepping into the roles
previously held by thetraditional manufacturing
(08:02):
powerhouses that you know of,you know, and we'll talk a
little bit about that.
But off the cuff, I think about,you know, North Africa, I think
about Central America, I thinkabout uh, you know, India was
one that we've talked about fora long time.
It's going through a littlehiccup of its own right now.
Um, but uh that we're seeing uhemerging uh uh markets and we're
(08:22):
seeing our clients faceregulatory challenges that
they've never faced before,which has made us more valuable
than ever, right?
So, so so the combination todouble-edged sword, um, on the
one hand, the headwinds cause meto lose sleep at night.
Um, and and honestly, and I'llsay this, uh, and I want to say
(08:45):
it right now, like publicly onthe record, I say it for
everyone.
Uh if you are a customsbrokerage professional in the
United States right now, if youknow a customs brokerage
professional in the UnitedStates right now, give yourself
or give each other or go givethem a hug.
It is, it is the ever everybodyin this business has their day,
(09:06):
whether it's air, freight, uh,you know, truckload procurement,
right?
Right now, the the customsbrokerage uh uh uh folks are
having and trade policy folksare having an amazing time, an
amazingly challenging timeacross the country, keeping up
just with the volume of of workthat they have.
And that that's because of theexpertise that they bring to the
(09:29):
table, which is what our clientsneed at the moment and what
continues to createopportunities.
So give a customs broker a hug.
I'm gonna make that bumpersticker.
SPEAKER_00 (09:41):
So sounds like a great sticker, bumper sticker,
put it on your computer, put iton your water bottle.
I need to share the love.
Yeah, for sure, for sure.
And how are you seeing recentchanges, the tear-ups, the
regulations, the supply chaindisruptions?
How are they really forcingcompanies to rethink their
global sales and tradestrategies?
(10:03):
And kind of what is Mohawk doingthen?
SPEAKER_02 (10:05):
We're back on the yo-yo, right?
This is uh this is somethingthat we go through in this
industry.
Uh procurement and logisticsfunctions in our clients and and
in importers specifically, um,but but also uh most major
businesses, manufacturers andsuch in the United States uh are
(10:27):
seeing now uh transportation,supply chain, procurement,
logistics, the whole shebangcome back out of the back office
and become a strategic priority.
Obviously, rethinking sourcing,compliance, and distribution
strategies.
Um we're seeing the people thatwe work with and our partners
(10:53):
reassess how they manage andwhat they expect from their
transportation customs brokerageproviders, um, and and a big
push to continue to buildresilience into uh uh their
transportation and and and andsourcing networks.
Um the challenge is, and I andI've I've talked about this
(11:16):
before, and I'll continue totalk about it, is that this
happens all the time.
You know, and it's it's I it Ithink it's who we are, and I say
we, I mean the human condition,I guess, right?
Like it's it's who we are as aas a world, as a society, um,
(11:36):
that we focus attention on wherethe pain is at the moment, uh,
and then it changes.
But uh, you know, I think I saidon the last podcast that during
COVID supply chain bull whipchallenges, right?
I saw more front office CFO, CEOinvolvement and supporting and
(12:02):
working with the logistics sideof their businesses than I had
ever seen in my life, right?
And it was much more than a costconversation at that point, it
was a customer service.
And how do I get my goods tomarket conversation and what are
the strategies?
And I told everyone that as soonas the ocean rates fall back
down and the truck rates fallback down, uh, you know, that
(12:25):
that will disappear.
And it did, and it did.
And I saw some great, greatinitiatives put together by some
great logisticians and some justgreat supply chain teams at our
clients and the clients thatwe're not dealing with.
I saw some great initiatives tobuild stability and and and
predictability into their modelthat would be helping them
today.
I saw those initiatives getrolled back, canceled, and uh uh
(12:49):
all in the in the cost ofchasing uh uh you know savings,
only for now um the opportunityto re-emerge, to reassess.
And again, um depending on howlong this lasts, depending on
you know the this disruption andthis uh you know, we don't know
what's gonna happen.
(13:09):
Um there's a court case comingup uh in November where the
Supreme Court's gonna heararguments and rule on the the
constitutionality of AIVA.
Um I can't I'm gonna give you mymy thought, um, and it's just
based on this what we've seenthe Supreme Court do.
(13:29):
Uh, I don't believe there's anyway on this planet that they
will that they will find thesetariffs unconstitutional.
I don't I'm not gonna make alegal argument.
I'm just you know, there seemsto be a a direction that the
government is marching right nowin sort of unison.
But if they were to be foundunconstitutional, right, and and
we would have some immediaterelief, or if in the midterms
(13:50):
there's a there's a party changeor you know, what have you, and
I I can't even begin to pretendto understand or or know what's
gonna happen, or these headwindscalm down, and then all these
great initiatives that we'reseeing our customers work
through and and and build ondisappear again.
And you know, that I thinkthat's the challenge for our
clients and for Mohawk is issupporting the building of
(14:12):
long-term strategies that thatum that will get our clients
through the next decade becausethe next next disruption's
coming.
That's it's inevitable, right?
SPEAKER_00 (14:27):
So, in your role, you oversee you know global
sales and marketing, obviouslytalk a lot about trade and all
of that.
So I'm curious because I feellike a lot of times when we
think about marketing, it's kindof like the softer version of
revenue.
People just talk about theimportance of sales in it.
But how do you see thatmarketing function kind of
evolving in response to the newtrade realities and being able
(14:50):
to help execute the bottom linefor companies?
SPEAKER_02 (14:56):
Marketing, and I I hope my marketing team hears
this uh because they do such afantastic job of this and
they're so proud uh of what theydo.
They are a strategic enabler,they're on the front lines,
right?
They are the key to helping usfind and deliver market
(15:17):
intelligence that our that ourclients need uh to help uh uh
drive client education, right?
Um, and to demonstrate to ourclients before they ever talk to
us, why Mohawk Global is theright provider for them.
And there is so much movementright now.
(15:38):
And if you start thinking aboutwhat's going on in the truckload
market and the LTL market, andyou start thinking about what's
going on from a trade policypoint of view and what's going
on with ocean rates out of outof India uh to the southeast
United States, there are so manypieces of information out there
that it's impossible.
(15:59):
The best sales rep in the world,right?
You know, it isn't going to beable to understand, work with,
and and bring solutions uh tothe clientele for all of those
at any given time.
And and marketing has thatability, that breadth and and
and and scope to take thosetopics, create content,
(16:21):
demonstrate um where we addvalue in in a potential
prospects world, um, and thenhelps us harness um uh the
potential, you know, thepotential leads and such that
comes from that.
But there is no betterdisseminator of of news and
(16:43):
information that matters thanthan the marketing teams right
now.
And goodness, they're busy,they're busy at the moment,
right?
Um I think they also work hardto help our clients understand
the value of integratedservices, right?
Uh making sure that we'recombining customs brokerage,
ground transportation, oceanfreight, right?
(17:05):
Um, and and then again, wealways have to say it, but then
prove it.
There's never been a betteropportunity to generate case
studies and white papers of whatyour company has done to help
clients get through thestruggles.
Again, every every headwind,every every every problem is an
opportunity.
(17:25):
It's cliche, I know, but itreally is in this business uh to
solve a problem and then do itagain and scale it for more
clients.
But you have to be able todemonstrate uh the success and
and and what you've done uh uhin the past uh to bring more uh
potential clients into theorganization.
(17:46):
So our marketing team isamazing, amazing.
SPEAKER_00 (17:51):
I I agree.
I think that um things aremoving really fast and showing
that you are staying up to datewith what's going on, that
you're paying attention to allof the pieces, and then yes, how
can you actually help yourcustomers is really important.
And I do think that that's wheremarketing comes into play.
(18:11):
They're able, like you said,there's case studies, this is
what we're doing.
These are our communicationstrategies for how we are
delivering information to ourcustomers, our prospects, and
even if it's your marketing teamor your internal comms team,
this is how we're explaining toour team what's going on and
what they need to know and whatthey should be sharing and what
you know, what is ourdifferentiator?
Well, if you're paying attentionand you're able to really
(18:33):
explain what's going on to yourcustomer in a way that makes
sense for them and theirbusiness, so important.
SPEAKER_01 (18:38):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (18:40):
So we are really excited to have you be one of
our speakers at the upcomingTMSA Executive Summit
Conference, which will beOctober 22nd through the 23rd in
Chicago.
And you are presenting Thrivingin a New Era of Global Trade.
Anyone that is listening to theshow, we are giving a show
(19:02):
discount.
If you go to events.tmsatoday.org, you can use the code
on the payment link, move tosummit 10 to get a 10% discount.
But I wanted to talk to youabout your session.
We were so excited when yousubmitted for this.
You are a longtime TMSAsupporter and board member, but
you know, we've gotten you tomoderate panels on the stage.
(19:22):
But this will be, I think, thefirst time that you are
presenting as a you know a solopresenter.
So we're really excited to haveyou.
Obviously, you're really wellversed in all things global
trade.
And what are some of the keythings you hope to cover as
we're now a month out?
So things can change and soquickly, as we just said.
But yeah, what do we have tocover?
SPEAKER_02 (19:44):
There was a there was a truth social post last
night that was like a punch inthe nose to a lot of our
clients, and and and and so uhit does change rapidly.
But the point of this, and Ithink the point of the
conversation, which I'mextremely excited, like I I
can't wait to get up and blackout on stage as we um uh and you
guys, how'd it go?
SPEAKER_00 (20:05):
I'll be right there with you.
SPEAKER_02 (20:07):
How do you do that?
SPEAKER_01 (20:07):
Right, how did I do?
SPEAKER_02 (20:09):
Um uh, you know, there's we're we're going to
pull lessons from the past,right?
We're going again.
I've I will keep saying it andI'll stop saying it on this
podcast just so you don't haveto you know get tired of it, but
I will continue to say in myconversations out there.
We've been here before.
Um, we'll be here again.
(20:29):
This is nothing new, and I'mgonna demonstrate that.
We're gonna have a we're gonnahave a conversation.
We're gonna have, you know,since since since the first the
first human traded uh a berryfor a for a uh a rock.
I I don't know what it was,right?
There has been some sort ofdisruption when the other guy
next to him wanted a differentberry.
Like there's you know, this thisstuff has happened since the
(20:50):
beginning of time.
And what I really want toexplore is how freight
forwarders and truck brokersneed to prepare themselves for
the long term, right?
There's both a long term, um uhand how they can involve their
models to stay competitive.
Uh, when I talk about the longterm, you know, we've seen a lot
(21:12):
of smaller truck brokers come inand out of the market rapidly,
which is if that's theirstrategy, come in, make a buck
while while it while thegetting's good, so be it.
You know, if the strategy is toopen a business when the
market's hot and make it for thelong haul, right?
There's conversations that needto have about cash and
(21:33):
investment and other things.
Um, and then how do we evolve tostay competitive?
I think the key themes thereare, and I've mentioned it
before, the rise of regionaltrade flows and how to take
advantage of those, right?
Integrated services, the theabsolute importance of being an
(21:55):
integrated service provider.
Um, the need to diversify, youknow, um, many of us, uh, and
that's an exercise we're goingthrough right now at Mohawk, is
continuing to diversify not onlyour service offerings, but our
geographic spaces, right?
And I think our multinationalcompetitors have done have that
(22:16):
down just based on their scale,right?
But for many of the to small tomid-sized businesses that are
involved with TMSA, it's alittle bit more of a daunting
challenge.
And we can talk through, we'lltalk through some of the some of
the some of the ways to do thathappen make that happen.
And then and then agility,right?
Um, agility is is money, youknow, um, and and um we have to
(22:40):
both balance setting a course umin terms of vision and goals
that we can that we can meet andthat we will meet regardless of
changes, right?
Um, and then we have to maintainthe flexibility and and and and
(23:03):
uh agility to pivot rightquickly and strategically
respond to things thatopportunities that present
themselves or challenges thatthat face our customers.
And so it's a it'll be a fairlyuh comprehensive overlook at
that, and I'll bring some reallife things that we've done at
(23:23):
Mohawk, and I'll bring some reallife things that I'd wish we'd
done, like lessons learned,right?
And uh so so I'm I'm excited toshare that, and I hope everybody
takes advantage of the discountcode.
SPEAKER_00 (23:35):
Yes, shop register for executive summit, join us in
Chicago.
SPEAKER_02 (23:40):
Come see me see me in my hometown.
My wife is gonna come see this.
Excellent.
SPEAKER_00 (23:48):
So you can use the code MOVE2Summit 10 when you
register for executivesummitevents.tmsa today.org.
We're so excited for Anthony totake this this stage as one of
our speakers.
We have Nicole Glenn um as ourkeynote speaker right before
him.
We have a shippers panel that'sfeaturing uh Misubishi Power,
um, Kihi Distributors, andGoogle.
(24:09):
And we have a commercial growthpanel.
We have great discussions, andthen we actually recently
announced an optional add-onlocal networking event with the
Traffic Club of Chicago thatwill be an inclusive leadership
event.
So we have all kinds of excitingthings going on in Chicago for
Executive Summit and veryexcited for you to take the
state.
Yay!
SPEAKER_02 (24:30):
Yeah, and look, uh nothing would impress my wife
more, uh, who does not still tothis day really understand what
we do in this business becauseit's not normal, right?
And that's her fault.
That's my fault, not her fault.
Um slip there.
I may not be able to go hometonight.
Um, but it would be very nice tosee standing room only
(24:54):
attendance for this for thispresentation, for this blackout
moment.
So perfect.
SPEAKER_00 (24:59):
Love that.
And hope to see everybody there.
Yeah, you are such a wealth ofknowledge, really excited.
Do you have a few more questionsfor you um today to give people
uh more teasers of your breadthof knowledge?
So, how do you approach riskmitigation in global trade?
So, like, are there tools, arethere partnerships, are there
(25:20):
practices?
What are kind of thosemust-haves, right?
SPEAKER_02 (25:23):
All the above, right?
All the above.
It's it's a holistic approach.
It's it's obviously visibility.
And when I say visibility, it'snot only visibility tools, it's
visibility to what's going on inthe market.
It's talking to your clients,talking to your prospects,
right?
It's diversification,diversification.
And and you know, uh, one of thelast shipper panels we were on
uh that I was uh that I was on,we have we have a we have a
(25:46):
member uh and they have likeeight customers and they have
that locked down and it's agreat market.
They probably don't need todiversify, right?
They're in this really coolniche space.
That was an awesome shipper'spanel.
Um, but for everybody else whohas not completely locked down
this niche, like you've got todiversify, right?
Strong partnerships, right?
The the the fly by nighttransactional partners can be
(26:11):
useful at times, right?
If if and I say fly by night, Ihope that doesn't imply like
sketchy, right?
But like, you know, from arelationship point of view,
quick relationships, if you canfind mutually beneficial
opportunities to work withsomebody once or twice, that's
great.
But the deep, meaningfulpartnerships that you build
(26:31):
today, tomorrow, and hopefully20 years ago, right, are the are
the partnerships that are goingto sustain you and help you uh
uh diversify and drive and buildinto other markets, right?
And and so I think that that'sthat's important, right?
(26:52):
Um, so a strong degree ofcollaboration, um a thought
about, and I think this getslost in our business a lot.
Um, not a what's in it for meattitude, but what's in it for
this partnership when we starttaking on new clients or
(27:12):
businesses, you know, um globaltrade specifically is very
fragmented, right?
Domestic trucking brokerage isfragmented.
There's a lot of conversationgoing on about rate transparency
and the ideas that that um youknow that that truck drivers,
truck operators, you know, uhdon't have enough or aren't
(27:34):
seeing how much money is beingmade on their labor.
And we need to be fair partnersin all of this.
And and and there's somecompanies out there that have
the reputation as maybe beingless fair than others, and and
and we don't believe that that'sa that that is a survivable
long-term strategy for the typeof business that we want to be,
(27:57):
right?
Um smarter, faster decisionmaking, technology, technology,
technology.
We've been preaching it for 30years now, and it's it's never
going to stop uh being a majorconversation.
And um uh and and more thanthat, the integration uh of
everything and to singleinstance visibility platforms
(28:18):
for both your clients andinternal decision making, right?
So uh unified view, the utopiaof uh supply chain.
SPEAKER_00 (28:28):
Absolutely.
Um, so you touched on this alittle bit, just like there is
shifts in global trade flows.
So like regions are rising andyou know, some are falling in
relevance, there's new tradeagreements, all this stuff
that's going on.
So, how do you determine whereto invest or where to expand?
Are there certain criteria orsignals that you watch to make
(28:50):
those choices?
SPEAKER_02 (28:51):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
It's a it's an everyday, it's aneveryday part of the business,
right?
Um, and in fact, before this, umbefore we hit record, I sent to
my fellow executive leadershipteam, uh, some of them, we're
(29:11):
doing some vision work rightnow, some planning, a list of
markets, right?
A list of freight markets uhthat we should be paying
attention to.
And that information comes fromtalking to our existing clients,
right?
What are they doing?
First and foremost, we've got tobe talking to our clients.
(29:32):
We have to understand what theirthree-year and five-year
strategies are for building andgrowing their business.
Um, and we have to be a partnerin supporting that, right?
Um, it shouldn't be a one on oneconversation, it should be a
mutually beneficial conversationwhere we're talking together uh
uh about support.
(29:54):
Uh, on top of that, I mean,we're looking at the
macroeconomic indicators, we'relooking at At trade agreements.
We're looking at infrastructuredevelopment, political
stability.
Along with political stability,becomes ease of doing business,
right?
Regulatory framework, regulatoryenvironment, regional
(30:15):
specialization, I think isimportant in key commodities,
right?
We're seeing a substantial shiftin the garment and textile move
from some traditional places,China and South Asia to North
Africa, right?
(30:36):
As there's been heavy investmentmade in those areas.
Can they take advantage of thoseshifts into Africa, right?
(31:12):
Synthesis, is that the rightword?
Did I say that right?
Of the information that we getbombarded with and a best
prediction uh of where thingsare going to move and where
companies are going to sourcefrom and deliver to and
distribute from in the future.
SPEAKER_00 (31:30):
So and do you see like sustainability or ethical
sourcing playing into thosesales and trade strategy?
SPEAKER_02 (31:38):
Oh, I know you want me to say yes.
And I know you do.
SPEAKER_00 (31:41):
You can't answer.
SPEAKER_02 (31:44):
No, and it's it's weird, you know, it goes back to
it's one of those things thatthat I don't know that I've ever
lost a piece of business.
First of all, I I want to state,and I think it's important that
I state that um Mohawk and ourclients know that Mohawk will
(32:12):
not take advantage ofquestionable situations.
Um as an organization, ourvalues are such that you know we
don't look to uh uh get aroundrules, we don't get to look to
get around regulations, right?
(32:32):
Uh we want to uh be on the upand up, we want to be fair.
Uh and again, we want we want towork in a world where our
company and our our customersand their suppliers and the
employees that work for themthrive.
And those are the types ofcustomers that we do business
first and foremost with, right?
Like we're not we have a I don'tknow if it's a hard line because
(32:56):
it's hard to, but like we we wedon't do business with companies
that we think don't meet theethical mark.
So there is a filter on ourside, and once we get through
that, and like once weunderstand that in general we're
both reasonably ethicalorganizations, that's where I
(33:17):
come back and say, I've neverI've never seen us lose a piece
of business because we didn'twrite the correct ESG statement
in our RFQ response, right?
And as much as you know, as muchas look, I'm a an avid
outdoorsman.
I so I'll take I'll take climatechange as one that you know, and
(33:40):
again, I don't want to get intothe politics of it and and and
things like that, but uh as afisherman, somebody who's
outside a lot, right, I've seenchanges and and and and what
goes on in the world.
So I want nothing more than fora company to come in and and and
say, hey, we we want theall-electric fleet, right?
Or uh and I know now we'll getbombasted saying, well, the
(34:04):
electric still comes from coal,like whatever, right?
Um, but I want the companiesthat we work with to choose the
green alternatives and thingslike that.
Mohawk can offer those.
I just don't see it drivingbusiness decisions at the and
and and I'm sure it does forsome some brands, right?
(34:26):
But for the most part, I thinkthat there's an assumption
between us and our clients thatwe're acting in an ethical and
responsible manner.
Um, and and once you kind ofcross that threshold, we don't
see as much diving into thedetails as as um as maybe as
maybe we once expected, right?
(34:46):
I was at a PM conference maybetwo through two or three years
ago, where they they talkedabout environmental
sustainability a lot, right?
And and then uh again, maybethat's one of those initiatives
that ebbs and flows,unfortunately, uh, or ebbs and
flows based on other priorities.
(35:07):
If you're worried about, hey,all of a sudden I can't
manufacture my product uh inIndia because there's now a 50%
tariff, right, instead of the25.
And you've got mouths to feed atyour business, right?
You've got people that rely onyou, families that rely on you.
Maybe ESG and and yourcommitment to the environment
(35:30):
takes a step back.
So, like right now, I thinkthere's a lot of companies in
survival mode, which yeah, I'mnot thrilled to say, but right.
SPEAKER_00 (35:39):
I mean, I think it's one of those things that for
yeah, like if if you don't wantit to affect your bottom line,
and but if if you can't survive,then it can become a nice to
have instead of a must-have.
Absolutely, and so that justmight be where people are in the
market today because there's somany other factors that they
have to consider.
SPEAKER_02 (36:00):
Absolutely.
I I think that's where we are,and and and and I think just
like I've I've spoken about thebest laid logistics and supply
chain management plans, taking abackseat and times of, you know,
I think we say the same thing,go back and forth with ESG.
(36:22):
And uh hopefully it hopefullyit's uh, but you gotta, there's
gotta be a base standard toplay, at least with at least
with a company like Mohawk.
SPEAKER_00 (36:30):
And for smaller exporters or companies that are
kind of less embedded withglobal trade right now, do you
have advice for them as theybegin to start to adapt to this
new era without overextending?
Because yes, there's a lot ofthings to consider going on
right now.
SPEAKER_02 (36:45):
Simplicity and reliability, right?
Um don't overextend, focus onwhat you can do and what you can
do well, and build on it onebrick at a time, right?
Is it one region?
Is it one lane?
Is it one new hire that's goingto bring the expertise into your
organization to do somethingdifferent, right?
(37:07):
There's a lot of providers outthere that that partner um
together to provide bundledsolutions.
Um we work with a tremendousdistribution partner.
Mohawk's not a we're not adistribution organization, and
we work with a tremendous uhdistribution partner to to
introduce each other into uhclientele and and and and you
(37:30):
know just try to help each othergrow our business, right?
Uh as a mutually beneficialpartnership.
And there's a lot of thatavailable out there, right?
Um I think building into theprocess today, and a lot of
Mohawk has fallen into it atsome, and though we're doing a
great job writing it right now,and I'm I'm really pumped about
(37:53):
it.
Um, but a lot of the largefreight forwarders, a lot of
people who have been around fora long time, have systems that I
bet they wish they could go backand build with today's
technology today.
So don't skimp in that, right?
Where there's an opportunity tobuild automation, right?
(38:14):
Um uh utilize I you know,specifically I like the AI
agents.
I don't want to talk about AI asa whole.
I get a little, it's a littleout of my realm, but you know,
the AI, AA workflows, AI agents,and building that in and and
making sure that as they'reoutsourcing, I think a big piece
is don't fall into a tech debtthat that you know you find
(38:35):
yourself in 15 down years downthe road with a with a with a
nice you know growing businessand an investment in technology
that you have to make that isnot sustainable for your
organization.
We've seen really good companieshave to sell because of that in
the past in the sector.
So so main maintaining even ifthe investments are small and
(38:58):
even if you're not growing atthe pace you want to grow, I
think a smart, leveraged growthplan with the accompanying
built-in and technology is andand and and and visibility and
automation is the way to go.
That answer your question, wasthat good?
SPEAKER_00 (39:16):
It does, it does.
And then looking forward, whatare you most optimistic about?
Are there emerging trends,underdog regions, innovations?
I know we talked a little bitabout innovations there um
throughout the past couplequestions, but anything specific
that you think could reallyshape how global trade works in
like the next five years?
SPEAKER_02 (39:36):
I'm I'm really pumped about the continuing
integration of trade servicesand the different trade
ecosystems that we're seeing popup for both organizations like
Mohawk and our clients to manageuh at a high level and quickly
uh the the rules and regulationsand data and such.
(39:58):
So there's a I think there's alot there.
I mentioned it before, but AIagents specifically to routine,
you know, uh Mohawk Global.
Um I'm gonna I'll plug us here.
We have the best, mostknowledgeable people for your
business.
Everybody else has good onestoo, but not quite as good as
(40:19):
ours.
Um, and we'd like to have themspeaking to our customers about
what's going on, not um notbeing involved in data processes
that can be automated, uh uhroutine transactions.
We want them solving thechallenges, right?
(40:39):
And we want them talking to ourclients and and delivering
value.
And so I think that's the AIdefinitely has a place.
The AI innovation integration uhis exciting.
And for me, for me, the thecoolest thing continues to be
(40:59):
the rise of new regions and theimportance of new regions in
global supply chain.
You know, um, I mentioned thison a lot a lot of podcasts I've
done, probably the last one wedid together, but it's worth
mentioning again.
Um in the first half of mycareer, I went to China
(41:20):
regularly, right?
And and I and I've enjoyed it, II love it.
It's been a it was always afantastic experience.
Unfortunately, um only because II enjoy the experience so much,
I don't I don't go, I haven'tbeen in a long time.
I spent a lot of time in India,I spent a lot of time uh uh and
(41:43):
other kind of Sri Lanka is one.
When I when I give thispresentation that we talk about,
I'm leaving and I'm getting on aplane to Bangladesh, right?
Um, which for somebody like mewho's got the travel bug and the
culture bug and the like kind ofget out of my comfort zone is is
something that's fantastic, butthe business possibilities and
the growth possibilities arehuge.
(42:05):
And you know, the rise ofAfrica, um uh as a as a as a
specifically in the garment andtextile area that we're looking
in, one of one of the verticalsthat we work in, you know, I
didn't I've always wonderedlike, would there be a business
reason for me to get over toAfrica?
I want to go.
Like, I've had travel.
(42:26):
I almost the last flight I tookto Germany, I almost took
Morocco air out of Chicago justso I could stop in Morocco for
like two days.
My wife would be upset uh if Iwas just like, hey, I'm taking a
weekend vacation and you know,it's not tied to work.
So I didn't, I didn't I didn'tdo it.
Uh but now on the horizon,Ethiopia is not out of the
question, right?
Kenya is not out of thequestion.
(42:47):
Um, and and we're doing businessout of those out of those
regions.
Uh, and so continuing tocapitalize and and on on you
know, Central America has hasbeen a strong supplier, but how
will they grow?
Um, and and really watching howthose regions will continue to
invest in their infrastructureand their their manufacturing
(43:07):
capacity, manufacturing acumen,and and see how they're poised
to become important players inthe supply chains of tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00 (43:16):
Well, thank you so much for all of that insight.
Always enjoy talking about it.
SPEAKER_02 (43:21):
I hope it was insight if I blocked out.
Was it?
SPEAKER_00 (43:23):
I told you.
Me too.
No, I listened because I wasasking the question.
So it's not smart to me,Anthony.
SPEAKER_01 (43:30):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (43:30):
But if anyone watches the show regularly, you
know I have a question that Iask everybody, but I have a
question that I ask people whocome on for a second time as
well.
So you get a new end question,and that's if you could go back
in time and relive any day ofyour life, what would it be and
why?
SPEAKER_02 (43:55):
Are we excluding the obvious ones like um the birth
of my children?
And and and uh for me, it wouldbe the day I married my wife.
SPEAKER_00 (44:05):
You are the first person to say that, which I
think is lovely.
I don't think we have to excludethe big days.
For me, we're I like I whenpeople okay, I love my son more
than anything in the world.
The actual giving birth processisn't great, it's not a great
experience, it hurts.
SPEAKER_02 (44:22):
I was on the golf course smoking cigars.
That's that's what we'resupposed to do, right?
No, I'm right, exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (44:27):
I am it's like, of course, I love the sweet baby at
the end, everything is worth it.
But I'm like, if I'm reliving aday, can I have the day after?
No, it's the moment, right?
SPEAKER_02 (44:36):
It's the moment when you first hold them, right?
And and and and so for me it itwould be marrying my wife, who
has been an amazing ride or diepartner who has enabled me to go
on this tremendous adventure inthis wacky business that has
kept me extremely busy somedays, right?
(44:57):
Extreme at work, and and I missstuff because of this business
and the fact that it's 24.
And I know I'm speaking to allof you guys out there in this
business.
We miss stuff, uh, you know, anduh uh and it takes a tremendous
partner uh uh and somebody whowho understands you and what
(45:18):
you're trying to do.
Uh uh and so the marriage, my mymy marrying my wife, the birth
of my children, and then uh Iwould I would say um the day I
joined Mohawk, um uh I just hituh seven years and you get this
(45:39):
flood of things on on LinkedIn,you know, this flood of
reminders and so many wonderfulpeople.
I was at C.
H.
Robinson prior to that, and somany wonderful memories and and
things like that.
But the opportunity to come toan organization that gave me the
opportunity to try so manydifferent things um and work
with so many wonderful peopleand and uh uh with core values
(46:02):
that I believe in and and andand and fight for and and will
stand behind.
So I've gotta I've gotta throwthat into the pile.
There's a lot of days.
There's a lot of days.
SPEAKER_00 (46:13):
Well, I love that.
And if you want to join me andAnthony on another great day,
you will register for executivesummit at events.tmsa today.org.
You can use the discount codeMOVE2Summit10 to get a 10%
discount off of registration.
But thank you so much, Anthony,for coming on the show and for
(46:34):
speaking at Summit.
We are so excited to have you.
And it's been a pleasurespeaking to you.
SPEAKER_02 (46:38):
This was awesome.
I loved it.
You are the best podcast host inthe world.
Relaxing, cool.
Say hello to your mom.
She can ask me now.
SPEAKER_00 (46:50):
Have a good one.
SPEAKER_02 (46:51):
Take care.
Bye bye.
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