The New Bosses 2024: Louise Smit, Pieter Smit Group

The 17th edition of IQ Magazine’s New Bosses, in association with Futures Forum, was revealed in IQ 129, recognising 20 of the most promising 30-and-unders in the international live music business.

To get to know this year’s class a little better, IQ conducted interviews with each one of 2024’s New Bosses, discovering their greatest inspirations and pinpointing the reasons for their success.

Born and raised in the company that her father founded almost 45 years ago, Louise has been working at Pieter Smit Group for the past five years. With bases in six different countries and a fleet of 1,500 registered vehicles, there’s always a new adventure on the horizon, and being surrounded by people who love what they are doing, the event industry has a special place in Louise’s heart.  

With artists looking at more sustainable ways to tour, trucking and transport is an obvious place to start. What initiatives are you working on to help touring become greener?
We always offer options for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), a renewable diesel produced by hydrogenating vegetable oils by Neste. HVO is considered a cleaner alternative to conventional fossil diesel because it can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions significantly by 90%.

Unfortunately, the availability of Neste diesel is limited, especially on the road. Therefore, we invested to have our own dedicated tanks for Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ fuel at our Pieter Smit yards, so that we can purchase in such large quantity to make the price difference between fossil and HVO lower for our clients. We implemented a compensation system in which we carefully calculate the usage of diesel and compensate for it by utilizing HVO at our yard. Besides the HVO, we are also exploring the electrification of our fleet. Our fleet contains at the moment 20 electric vehicles (B-vans). We are also aiming to kick off in the autumn a full electric theatre tour, on which we are currently working on with several partners.

We’ve been through two crazily busy years, since the post-pandemic return to touring. What have been the challenges in terms of making sure you have a big enough fleet, and trained drivers to service clients needs?
The biggest challenge is the seasonality of the event industry and to fit your resource model to the seasons. Flexibility is in our DNA and we are focused on finding solutions: We always find the way to get the job done. We work together with partners to be able to scale up, and I have to give a big shoutout for the effort and commitment of my colleagues; they make the magic happen and I am very proud of them. At this moment, we have 380 colleagues out on the road touring under the Pieter Smit flag and we set a new record last week on driving from Warsaw to Madrid in 38,5 hours.

You’ve worked through the ranks at the company to become CEO. What are your plans for the future of the company?
The plan for the company’s future is to ensure a smooth transition between the first generation leading the company for 44 years to the second generation, to prepare the company for many more decades to come.

What events, tours or festivals are you most looking forward to in the year ahead?
What excites me the most, is the variety. In the same week, I am visiting a huge Rock N Roll concert and a few days later I am attending the classical concert of the Dutch icon André Rieu. We have a variety of clients, from renting a splitter van to twenty-plus truck productions, and we are grateful for all of them to trust the Pieter Smit Group.

“The plan for the company’s future is to ensure a smooth transition between the first generation leading the company for 44 years to the second generation”

When it comes to company development, are there any particular events, forums or platforms that you visit to try to find new clients?
We have been visiting several conferences all over the world. They all vary from each other and each of them is an enriching experience because you always learn something new at every event from the panels and from the people you meet there.

You’re obviously enjoying learning about the business as your career progresses. How would you encourage the next generation to choose the transportation sector for their career path?
It is not the transport sector that I chose, but a service company in the event sector, being a small but crucial link: We support production excellence. I encourage the next generation to join this sector, because of its dynamic nature. There are many opportunities to make an impact.

Do you have a mentor or anyone you rely on to bounce ideas off?
I started in this business because it was founded by my father, which leads to a special connection with him. I am happy with his advice – although I do not always ask for it – he has my back. I am very grateful for the support from several people, especially my co-management and our advisory board. No matter the challenge, they are there and that is extremely powerful. Thank you!

As a new boss, what one thing would you change to make the live entertainment industry a better place?
Our credo is: The Show Must Go On. Within that credo, everyone’s personal life should prevail. The work-life balance is a challenge for many within our industry. My company and I want to work on balancing this work-life relation.

What would you like to see yourself doing in five years?
That the transition is successfully completed. That I lead a flourishing company of which both first and second generation look to with love and pride.

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Global Critical Logistics acquires Asesores de Flete

Los Angeles-based Global Critical Logistics has acquired Madrid based forwarder Asesores de Flete (ADF), a provider of mission-critical logistics services to the live event, entertainment, sports, and broadcast industries.

ADF will be integrated under GCL’s Rock-it Global brand, one of the leading providers of logistics to the global live touring industry.

Together with Rock-it Global’s expansive presence in Latin America, the ADF acquisition solidifies Rock-it Global’s in-house capabilities to serve customers throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

Rock-it Global is a provider of high-touch, mission-critical air, ocean, and surface freight forwarding and logistics services for the live entertainment and music touring, sports, broadcasting, corporate events, and tradeshow end markets.

“Establishing a company-owned presence in Spain not only strengthens our geographic footprint in continental Europe but also gives us direct access to customers in key end markets within the region,” says Paul J. Martins, Global Critical Logistics’s CEO and president.

“We are always looking for strategic opportunities to grow the business, enhance our value proposition to customers, and expand service offerings across the world.

“Establishing a company-owned presence in Spain gives us direct access to customers in key markets in the region”

“The acquisition of ADF builds on our strategy of enhancing capabilities to target customers in high growth industries such as live events, music touring, sports, broadcast, and film and television production.”

ADF will continue to be led by founder and MD Carlos Arauz Sanchez.

“For more than 30 years, ADF has focused on providing a customised service to very demanding clients,” says Arauz.

“Joining the GCL family of companies and spearheading Rock-it Global’s efforts in Spain is an exciting step for our team since we are culturally aligned and have the same passion for providing outstanding service.

“We believe this partnership will further allow us to leverage a global network and shared resources for our existing customers, whilst continuing to deliver critical solutions in Spain and the region.”

Founded in 1987, ADF includes an experienced team of authorised in-house Customs experts and specialises in critical, zero-tolerance for failure projects serving customers around the globe.

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KB Events appoints Richard Burnett as MD

UK-based specialist transport firm KB Events has appointed veteran Richard Burnett as managing director.

Burnett joins from the Road Haulage Association, where he spent seven years transforming the organisation and growing the company’s profile and membership.

During his 37-year career in logistics, Burnett has worked for well-known businesses including TDG, Wincanton, Hays and Samworth Brothers, looking after high street names such as Heinz, GSK, Tesco and Adidas.

Burnett has also served as an expert voice on the challenges faced by European concert hauliers, post-Brexit.

“Richard’s appointment brings with it a fresh approach and heralds the start of a new and exciting era for us all”

KB Event’s current MD, Stuart McPherson, will remain in the business as the firm’s CEO, supporting Burnett and the rest of the team.

“As KB Event continues to adapt and to overcome the challenges presented by both Brexit and the pandemic, Richard’s appointment as managing director brings with it a fresh approach and heralds the start of a new and exciting era for us all,” reads a statement from the company.

KB events, based in Derbyshire in the UK, has “vast experience” of trucking music events, from festivals and concerts, to operas and worldwide stadium tours.

Clients include V Festival, Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Download, Isle of Wight, T in the Park, Wireless, Stereophonics, The 1975, Rod Stewart and Ed Sheeran.

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Industry vets launch freight forwarding company

Freight Minds, a new freight forwarding company for live events, has been established.

The UK-based company will offer services including air passenger and cargo charter, warehousing and logistics, couriers, ATA Carnets, and Brexit-related customs clearance services both into and out of the UK via road.

Located at London’s Heathrow Airport, a statement from Freight Minds says it’s “perfectly positioned for all air freight imports and exports, both into and out of the UK and around the world”.

The new venture was founded by industry veterans Alan Durrant, Geoff Knight and Matt Wright, and is completed by fellow expert Chris Jenkins.

“Between us, we have worked with some of the biggest names in the business in recent years, and we are delighted to be putting all that experience and knowledge into our new company,” says Wright.

“This is a brilliant opportunity to build a new post-Brexit and post-Covid business from the ground up”

“This is a brilliant opportunity to build a new post-Brexit and post-Covid business from the ground up in the way it should be done — with our clients’ priorities at the forefront.”

Knight adds: “It’s a whole new ballgame coming out the other side of Brexit and Covid, and we look forward to working with customers old and new over the coming months.

“Volumes are starting to ramp up again and, with well-publicised problems regarding freight logistics at the forefront of many people’s minds, we have the expertise and experience to continue to get the job done.”

Durrant comments: “Freight Minds allows us to establish a brand new company that is lean, agile, and responsive from the start.

“The ever-shifting patchwork of international regulations have only been made more complex by Covid, but we have over 120 years of combined experience at the forefront of this business and the expertise to make sure our clients’ shipments get where they need to go on time and within budget.”

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