Mike Rice

Email: mike@loguru.co.uk

Introduction

Mike has spent his entire working life within the Logistics Industry, and has held roles in Business Development, Operational Management, and Commercial Functions across several European Logistics Service Providers.

He has achieved outstanding success in Business Development, personally responsible for over £1.3 billion of contract revenue wins and retentions, while the teams he has led have amassed over £3.5 billion of business wins. Mike attributes these successes to having a passion for the logistics industry, a determination for success, and wanting to develop people and teams to be the best that they can be. Mike looks to understand a business in detail, understanding the vertical in which the business operates, understanding the challenges facing the business, and looking to understand the aged old question of “What does Good look like”. From this starting point, he builds relationships with teams and establishes the goal across combined teams of achieving not just “Good” but “Best”.

This skill set, and hunger, exhibited in the business development channel has allowed him to take senior leadership roles in several businesses, looking for continuous improvement and development, often in challenging circumstances.

In his career he has worked with many leading Service Providers in contract logistics, road freight and freight forwarding, working on a plethora of contracts and operations. He thrives on challenges, and has enjoyed working with, and building, some of the highest performing teams. His style is consultative in approach, preferring coaching and mentoring to an authoritarian style, believing in the power of teams.

Background

Mike had the privilege of joining the industry as a graduate trainee for the National Freight Corporation (NFC), a two-year programme designed to develop the next generation of leaders for the UK’s foremost logistics service provider. After being seconded to a confidential project with a competitor and a large retailer, his love of Commercial Business Development was ignited.

The early part of his career, post-graduation from NFC, was spent in the business development team at Wincanton. He worked on several warehouse automation projects and specialised in temperature-controlled warehousing and transport operations. His time in Trowbridge not only taught him an immense amount about our industry but have him a taste for scrumpy!

Mike then joined Christian Salvesen as part of the retail business development team. He led a project that won a regional distribution centre relief business for ASDA. The team developed momentum from this initial business win and a number of successes followed in the aviation, grocery, electronics, consumer, and fashion industries.

With the takeover of Christian Salvesen by Norbert Dentressangle, he was appointed as Business Development Director for Norbert Dentressangle (ND) Logistics UK Limited. The UK Logistics development team expanded and won business across many verticals from automotive to consumer goods to beers/wines and spirits in distribution, warehousing, and transport services provision. The methodology of the team was to understand the challenges faced by the customer, what does the customer want and need, and how can a robust solution be delivered that answers the customers' requirements. Mike is proud of the validation achieved through his UK Business Development team that won more business than the rest of the ND group combined for three years in succession.

Following ND, Mike enjoyed roles developing business units, and sectors, for a nationwide courier/ logistics business and CEVA. He worked across many sectors including manufacturing, construction, and retail. Perhaps his fondest memory was in leading the CEVA rail initiative, a dedicated nightly block train working with a number of blue-chip companies, reducing congestion, travel time and CO2emissions for container imports ex Felixstowe and Southampton.

Mike enjoys leading and working with teams, particularly enjoying the camaraderie of peak or exceptional times. He has been involved with pioneering projects such as creating the screening centre service for Manchester Airports Group (receiving high praise from the Department for Transport). He is immensely proud of the result his team achieved in pioneering the world class “Single Route to Market” platform for Pret a Manger.

Mike has enjoyed senior roles as Business Development Director, Strategic Development Director, Commercial Director and Managing Director for companies operating across Europe. He believes in transparency, effective plain communication, and the power of motivated teams.

Current Aspirations

Working with the team at Loguru, he recognises the skill and experience that his colleagues offer. Mike is delighted that we share a common vision to support and develop and innovate with the logistics industry helping it to be more profitable, achieving robust growth and increasing its environmental responsibility. The Logistics Industry is vital for all economies, and exceptional professionals such as Mike are needed to ensure that it continues to provide innovation and success. 

Mike has a real passion to add value and profit to all logistics businesses, and will be our lead in the launch of LOGURU Pulse.