MEET ME, JACQUES OOTHUIZEN, UPF NAMIBIA

Hi Jacques! Tell me more about you! Hi, my name is Jacques Oosthuizen. I am 36 years old and was born in Kimberly South Africa. My family moved to Namibia when I was 9 months old and have been living here since then. I currently reside in Walvis Bay since 2004. After high school I originally pursued law for 2.5 years with UNISA, but then made a transition to the logistics, freight forwarding & shipping industry. I currently hold an International Diploma in Freight Forwarding from FIATA and have done various sales and operations courses. I entered the industry in 2012 and have since held various junior and senior positions. I began as a junior customs clearing clerk, and my most recent roles include Branch Manager – Namibia – Inchcape Shipping Service, Regional Commercial Manager – Dubai – Inchcape Shipping Services and General Manager – Namibia – OMA Group. I have always enjoyed connecting people and things, and I am honoured to have gained the exposure and experience I have. In my free time, I love being outdoors in nature, spending time with friends and family, and taking off-road 4×4 trips.

What is your background for choosing the industry? One of my very first colleagues at a law firm I used to work at, used to be a clearing and forwarding agent and she told me a lot of about the industry which always sounded so interesting, combined with ships agency. I have always been analytical and logical of nature and the industry just felt like the “logical” choice. Luckily, I had a friend who later worked for a local clearing & forwarding company, and they were looking for customs clearing clerks and that’s how my whole journey started.

What is your role at the office? I have only just joined UPF Namibia as the Branch Manager, but going forward, my day-to-day will include general management of logistics and ships agency, PnL ownership, business develop and growth, sales and local strategy.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? I believe I will still be in the industry, and of course hopefully still within the UPF Group, whatever the role might be at that time. The short to medium term goal would be to help UPF grow and expand, whether that could be locally or across borders.