S PECI AL F E ATU RE IAMS WHITE LOOKS TO REINFORCE TEAM SPIRIT As he nears the end of his first year as IAM President, Charles Chuck White, IAM President speaks about his career progression from American football coach to professional mover and his plans to build on the spirit of collaboration already established with the organisation. James Richards reports M CHARLES CHUCK WHITE y route into the moving industry has been anything but direct, says Charles Chuck White, who became President of the International Association of Movers (IAM) in January. I left college as a high school biology teacher and an American football coach. I did that for 15 years before realising that I wasnt making enough money to raise two children. White explains how a friend of his father had started his own moving company in the Washington DC area and invited him on board. I took a leap of faith and totally changed professions. As such, I grew up in the industry in midlife. I did everything and anything in the moving industry for about 11 years. At some point, the owner of the company advised me to get involved with the Household Goods Forwarders Association (HHGFA). Eventually, I was elected WW W. F I D I. O R G FF293 OctNov19 pp40-41 Interview Charles White.indd 41 Our annual meeting is a catalyst for our organisation and brings participants and members together to its board of directors, and served in that capacity for four years. When an opportunity opened up on the staff of the organisation, White accepted the role. The business I was working with was like a family but, in the end, I decided it was the right move for me. Ive been here now for 15 years. As President, Id like to continue down the path my predecessor, Terry Head, has set out, and continue with the momentum he built up in his 21 years with the organisation. White confirms that technology will be a key part of the future of the IAM. We want to become much more data driven than in the past. Weve also launched a new online membership directory tool, called Mobility Exchange, through which we are hoping to expand the offerings available to our members. In the near term, we want to build on IAM learning our training suite which is an area FIDI has made incredible steps in. We may be able to piggyback on some of that. We will also build on the success of our annual meeting, which is a catalyst for our organisation and brings participants and members together. The fact we can offer our members this networking opportunity, is a strength of ours, and we intend to keep building on that, said White. In May, FIDI and IAM signed a Memorandum of Understanding formalising their collaboration to make the FIDI Professional Cooperation Guidelines (PCGs) available to IAM Members. According to White: This is an amazing development, and the fact that we are collaborating is incredibly positive for the industry as a whole, as well as for individual customers and corporate customers. In terms of the benefits of such a scheme, White explains that, although both organisations have a payment protection plan, at times its very difficult to adjudicate the different perspectives members have towards outstanding payments. The new collaboration sets the stage to standardise this process. With a clear set of guidelines, both sides will start doing business from the same place and will understand the expectations theyre working to. 41 18/09/2019 12:53