Sirena Santos

My journey in international logistics began in 2010 when I decided to take up international business in college. During my four years at Hofstra University, I took an import-export course and found it really interesting. As I was getting close to graduating, I reached out to my career center and told them my interests and what I wanted to do, asking if they could help me find an internship within that field. I was able to get an internship at Shapiro, where I started working in customs brokerage, assisting them with the customs clearance documents. From there, I was able to get a job at a freight forwarder called J.F. Hillebrand, which is now called Hillebrand Gory. I've always worked in logistics and international shipping. At my previous company, I started off as a logistics coordinator and then became team lead. Then my current company, Midea America Corp, reached out to me on LinkedIn. I went for an interview, and they hired me. I came over as a specialist and then worked my way up to assistant manager, manager, and now senior manager for international logistics. I've been in this role for a little bit over a year now. Today, I oversee all of the international shipments for the company from Southeast Asia to the U.S., including the transportation, customs clearance, and drayage management and procurement. I oversee all shipments, whether they're going to our own 3PL warehouses or directly to our customers, and I have a team of inbound, customs, and a carrier management and procurement specialist.