A passion for shipping – 20 years on

FROM RECEPTIONIST to branch manager – that is the route taken by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) East London head Barbara Taylor. “When I started MSC was a two-man show in East London under Owen Diemer. There wasn’t that much to keep me busy as a receptionist and as I couldn’t just sit there, I started doing manifests and bills of lading. “Then, early in the ‘90s it became very quiet and various people came and left while I worked up to my present position," says the East London-born mother of two. Now, 20 years on, Taylor says she still loves coming to work. "There is always something different.” Fuelling her enthusiasm is a commitment to continue learning. In 2006 she passed her Liner Trade course at the MSC Maritime School. “It was nerve-wracking at 40-something to start studying again, but it was worth it and I will continue,” she says. Taylor also encourages her staff to continue their studies in order to enrich their own lives and to provide better levels of service to their customers.