David Noe

Can you imagine doing business with people who work in every continent of the world? Well, David Noe does every day!

David Noe is the Vice President of Global Sales for APL Limited, the fifth largest shipping company in the world. With its fleet of 76 huge container ships, APL carries goods to and from port cities all over the world. APL then moves those goods by truck or train to their final destinations. In addition to moving goods for its customers, APL can also store goods in its warehouses and can help its customers manage all the ‘logistics’ or details of moving products across borders and over oceans.

David has worked for APL since 1985 in APL offices in Hong Kong, Korea, and the U.S. The group he now manages — the Global Sales Department — was created in 1996 to serve a new kind of APL customer: the global business. These ‘global’ customers are mostly Fortune 500 companies that have expanded from a single location to have offices, factories, and employees in cities and countries all over the world. A single global business might have offices in four different continents and might move its products between factories and warehouses that were located thousands of miles apart. These businesses need extra help and attention to coordinate all their shipping and logistics needs between all their various offices and facilities.

David’s group is charged with providing that service and handles over $800 million in business a year for those customers. It’s not unusual for David to be working with someone from Japan, someone from Hong Kong, and someone from Germany all at the same time. It takes a lot of juggling and a great deal of sensitivity to the cultural practices of people in different countries.

Want to help David? Download the case study below and test your skill.