In her forty-plus years in the steamship business, Margaret has facilitated transport for all kinds of cargo from humble Yugo hatchbacks to Apache attack helicopters. As Pasha’s Director of Military Cargo, Margaret recognizes teamwork as crucial to success. Because of this, she maintains a close relationship with her manager, VP of Ocean Services, Mike Connolly, her direct report, Anderson Nowling, and the Shared Service Center (SSC) crews in Reno and Dallas that support their efforts. “If I didn’t have my team, I’d be nowhere. I often thank them for a job well done and ask what I can do for them to make their tasks easier. I get a lot of positive affirmation from my boss, and I try to keep that going through the team,” she said.
Margaret’s career began in Holland after she was let go from a Dutch McDonald’s for lack of a work permit. After scouring local newspapers for work, she found an ad looking for someone fluent in English. Margaret sent her resume, landed the job, and never looked back. The new position was for a steamship line called Trans Freight Lines (TFL) based in Rotterdam. At TFL, Margaret had her first of many experiences with merger/acquisition. TFL had purchased ships and containers from SeaTrain, a U.S. Flag carrier that was filing for bankruptcy. The new assets expanded TFL’s service into the U.S. Gulf. In support of the transition, Margaret met with the conference carriers in Stockholm to successfully harmonize TFL’s rates into the new tariff system.
After four successful years living and working in Rotterdam, Margaret, who had started a family, requested a transfer back to the U.S. to be closer to her relatives. Her next job was as an account executive with SeaLand Service in New Jersey. Margaret’s customer base included BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volvo, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Lotus, and… Yugo. After gaining valuable experience, she then took a new position with the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia in Baltimore as Manager of Pricing and Documentation. Here, Pasha first came onto her radar after they requested a quote on Household Goods.
After some time in Baltimore, Margaret returned home to New Jersey with a job at DSR Senator Lines. A subsequent acquisition by Hanjin moved the corporate offices nearly a hundred miles away, forcing Margaret to move on from the company. It was then that she got the call from Pasha. Margaret was offered a job in Business Development, heading the Government Initiative Team while searching for federal, state, and local contract opportunities for all of Pasha’s divisions.
Over her career, Margaret has witnessed many positive changes, especially the growing acceptance and recruitment of women in the maritime industry. One instance, at a conference in 1983, stands out to her. Margaret recalled, “The conference chairman made a motion to change the meaning of “Gentlemen” to “Lady and Gentlemen,” so he could include me by proxy. At the time, that struck me as odd, but then not too many women worked in the industry in the 1980s. Opportunity for advancement was difficult if you had children.” Because of that lack of opportunity, a career in Maritime was not something that came immediately to mind when Margaret was starting out. Things have been steadily improving, and she is happy to say that, “Today, there are many more women in management and executive positions. Just look at Pasha!“
In addition to moving helicopters and armored fighting vehicles, Margaret likes to garden and spend time outside. Since the pandemic began, she has become a dedicated practitioner of yoga which she describes as a “lifechanger.”
