Thunderous applause, standing ovations and a flurry of flashlights for Erich Staake: On December 5, the Chairman of the Executive Board of Duisburger Hafen AG was inducted to the world-famous hall at the annual gala reception of the Logistics Hall of Fame at the Federal Ministry of Transport in Berlin as the “modernizer of inland port logistics”. 250 guests from logistics, politics and industry paid tribute to the work of the man who, with his logport concept, had led inland port logistics into a new era and made the regional port of Duisburg to one of the leading logistics hubs in Europe.
“Erich Staake has characteristics that are rarely found among managers: He combines power, management and courage. He assumes responsibility, leads and sets the direction. And he has shaken up logistics,” said former Bertelsmann manager Mark Wössner, who delivered the laudatory speech for the new member. The manager has not only made a significant contribution to the port of Duisburg, but has also impressively demonstrated how logistics strengthens the economic power and quality of life of an entire region. A total of 50,000 jobs, 7,000 directly in the port, have been created in the past 20 years.
Erich Staake, who worked as a manager for Preussag, the construction group Philipp Holzmann, Wella and Bertelsmann among others, is the 35th member of the Hall of Fame of the world’s most famous logisticians. In the historic Erich Klausener Hall of the Federal Ministry of Transport he accepted the prestigious membership certificate made of glass and metal.
Angela Titzrath, CEO of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG, will also remember the evening in Berlin: The 53-year-old manager was honoured as “Logistics Leader of the Year 2019” – an award that was presented for the first time at the reception. In his speech Dr. Michael Güntner, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, acknowledged Titzrath`s courage as a change maker, which had sustainably brought terminal operator HHLA forward within a short period of time.
Angela Titzrath has been a member of the Executive Board of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) since October 1, 2016 and Chairman of the Executive Board since January 1, 2017. Prior to this, the graduate economist was a member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Post AG, where she was responsible for human resources for the entire group until 2014.
The Logistics Hall of Fame honours personalities who outstandingly contributed to the further development of logistics and supply chain management. It is under the patronage of the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure and is supported by numerous associations and companies, including Duisburger Hafen (duisport), Intralogistics provider Still, commercial vehicle manufacturers Traton, Humbaur and Kögel.
The new “Logistics Leader on the Year” award is presented to entrepreneurs and managers who have made a particularly successful contribution to their companies or set a trend-setting impulse. The focus is on currentness and the benefits for the company.
The decisive factor for induction as a member of the Logistics Hall of Fame, however, is that the contribution is not only beneficial for an individual company, but has also significantly and permanently developed logistics beyond the boundaries of its own organisation or has become an industry standard. So far, 35 logisticians have made it into the international Hall of Fame.
