After more than 23 years of engineering expertise and leadership experience including senior roles at va-Q-tec and Envirotainer, Dominic Hyde joined Peli BioThermal as vice president of the Credo on Demand rental programme. He took time out of his busy schedule to talk about topics including working for a former competitor, and doing business with tribespeople in Botswana.

ACW: How do you feel about your new appointment?

I am very excited about the appointment. I’ve already had insight into the team, the people and the plans and it is all very encouraging.

ACW: What appealed to you when considering your new role as vice president of Crēdo on Demand?

Pelican has got a very good reputation and a long background in protective cases for demanding environments. It has diversified into temperature controlled packaging solutions over the last couple of years by acquisition and development and it has built a strong product portfolio and a very good market position.

So I think with the thermal technology they have, and the experience that I have of that technology and the belief that I have in it, I was really delighted to be considered to lead the development of the global rental service offering.

ACW: Tell me about your new role and the challenges you will be facing?

My role will be to build a GDP compliant, market leading rental global service offering. Part of my job is to help build a partner network with airlines, freight forwarders and integrators so together we can realise the benefits of the sector for the benefit of pharmaceutical shippers.

ACW: What was your previous experience of Pelican/Peli BioThermal in the market place?

Previously Peli BioThermal was a competitor and I liked to keep an eye on them.

ACW: What will be the most immediate projects you will be involved with on joining the company?

Peli BioThermal has been developing its global service offering over the past two years from building from nothing and is gaining considerable traction with new and established customers and my most immediate projects will involve expanding the global footprint to support those customers and introducing new products that they have into that service model.

There is immediate demand and we need to satisfy that before going onto the broader, more strategic plan to serve the wider market, which is a great position to be in, to start with your customers demanding things.

ACW: Given the current market conditions, what wider challenges do you anticipate you may face in your new role?

Quite rightly the regulatory environment continues to evolve so its scope is expanding to encompass clinical but also the intermediate APIs as well as the bulk and packaged finished goods.

ACW: What are the most exciting developments planned for the business that you are looking forward to helping implement?

I think outwardly a lot of these products just look like boxes but actually Crēdo Cargo is a technological leap forward and enables us to rethink the global supply chain, particularly where there are imbalances between imports and exports. Where you have those imbalances, such as where if you have a consumer market that doesn’t produce pharmaceuticals, then containers will flow into that market and until now you have had no alternative other than to pursue quite expensive repositioning of empty containers to get them back to where they are needed for the next customer.

ACW: Which two organisations outside your own do you know the most people at and why?

I have been involved in standards development within the AGE-2 Air Cargo and Aircraft Ground Equipment and Systems committee and it has been a privilege to work with some of the older members who have been contributing since the start of containerisation.
Medway Rugby Football Club where my sons are all players and I coach. With regular fixtures, events and tours there are many opportunities to socialise and we have made some great friends along the way.

ACW: What’s the most interesting thing about you that we wouldn’t learn from your CV alone?

I was born in Botswana where my parents were building a school and a clinic in Tutume. I was named Mbiganyi by the Bakalanga tribespeople in return for some sorghum and a chicken although I think they should have held out for a goat.

ACW: Which is your favourite quote?
“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today” My granddad

ACW: What would you do if you won the lottery?
Spoil my wife, some water and tree projects in Africa and generally try to not let myself run to seed.

ACW: What three items would you take to a desert island other than food and water?

I think it might be best all round if I take Donald Trump, his mobile and his Twitter account but if he doesn’t count as an ‘item’ then it would have to be Crocs for comfort, a Dick Brewer surfboard for fun and a Damascus steel knife to make everything else.