Traci Hinds

My journey in international trade began in 1983 when my mother, who was an importer of textiles from Italy, connected me with her customs broker who was hiring. I started as a 'Gal Friday' doing office assistant work, but I quickly became fascinated by the business, especially seeing the huge markup differences between commercial invoices and retail prices at stores like Macy's. I worked my way up to become an entry clerk, then took on customer accounts and even did courier services, traveling to Italy carrying DHL packages before they had their own planes. Over the years, I moved through different companies in Manhattan, learning various aspects of the business including brokerage, warehousing, distribution, and pick and pack services. I eventually became Vice President of Operations at Sovereign Logistics for 10 years, where we owned an NVOCC container line. In that role, I traveled extensively to Peru, El Salvador, and Guatemala, conducted warehouse and port inspections with customs officials, and helped customers detect pilferrage in their supply chains. After the market crash, I lost my job and moved to Florida, where I briefly opened my own export service business. When that didn't work out due to timing, I worked for FedEx part-time and other companies before joining Maersk in 2016. I started as a customer service rep, which was humbling after being a VP, but I wanted to learn the ocean carrier side of the business. My manager eventually moved me into sales, where I've thrived. In 2024, I won Sales Master for North America, and in 2025, I won Global Sales Master, which earned me a week-long trip to Denmark with my son where we were treated like royalty. As a Senior Client Manager, my customers come to me for everything from negotiating contracts to getting credits to resolving booking issues. I've learned that you can't reach the pinnacle and think you've made it - you have to constantly keep learning and striving to do better than you did the day before.