In an ever-changing customs landscape, expert guidance is critical and Anastasie Michel Tonleu has used her continuous learning mindset to gain the knowledge needed to serve our customers.
Anastasie Michel Tonleu, CHB & CCL Product Manager for SWA Area, is no stranger to overcoming challenges and is looking to continuously develop herself, which is why she has gone from strength to strength since joining Maersk back in 2010.
Originally part of the Finance recovery team when the former system, CRESYS, crashed and the team had to pull together to rebuild the systems data, from the archives. With a great sense of curiosity, Anastasie was able to learn and master all shipping documents and processes. This was the foundation of several roles she had over the years from customer experience agent, release Supervisor, Area Charge Manager, Commercial Planning Manager for the NAM trades before moving into the Customs services Manager role for Southern West Africa Area.
Reflecting on her career journey a key learning she shared was from 2017 during the cyber-attack, Anastasie was still relatively new to her role as Area Charge Manager and through this crisis she was able to work in an ambiguous context and no matter the obstacles ahead she realised that you could learn how to deal with these and remain positive through the experience.
Customs services can be technical requiring knowledge of local regulations and compliance. As we operate in a volatile environment it is imperative that we uphold the values of Maersk and conduct business in a responsible manner. To do this Anastasie builds the most accurate and reliable strategy to ensure we remain competitive and enable our customers to be compliant.
Reflections
A key element of her success is the ability to build trust, develop solutions and manage stakeholders both within Maersk as well as with external parties such as government officials, terminal authorities, customs officials etc. There is a saying in the industry that “you date your forwarder but marry your customs broker” emphasizing the importance of partnership mindset.
Hence, through the means of collaboration she ensures that our customs services product meets the customer needs and enable them to be compliant and stay ahead. It is vital to remain connected to trade policies – locally and globally – that could impact both us and our customers. She is always willing to listen to our customers to enhance product competency delivering a seamless "one stop shop" service.
If I look around the eco-system of Customs, it reflects a male dominated industry, yet Anas is a great example of breaking that stereotype by being a role-model to others to follow any function/industry that they love and are ready to lean in. Diversity in all aspects is what makes us stronger!
Driving force
When asked what drew her to the role Anastasie shares that she loves to challenge herself and over the years the Maersk strategy has given her the room to fulfil this, which has led to her current role. Anastasie shares,
I am not afraid of taking a challenging role and if that breaks a stereotype along the way, then that is great. I am truly grateful of the knowledge that I have been able to get from some of the sharp minds I have met within the Maersk Group, many of them have supported me in my career growth.
A key career highlight for her was moving into a more strategic role (Trade & Marketing and now within the Product Team) and she is at her best when being kept busy with ways in which to look for the most optimal solutions for our customers.
With her clear focus on our customers and being driven to meet challenges head on it is no wonder Anastasie is set to ensure we take Customs Services to the next level in SWA Area.
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