Lionel van der Walt joins Vector.ai to accelerate its commercialisation

Lionel van der Walt, formerly of PayCargo, is to join Vector.ai, a productivity platform for freight forwarders, as chief growth officer.

Mr van der Walt left PayCargo, where he was global chief commercial officer, in February to care for his sick daughter. Following her recovery, he is set to relocate to London, where he will oversee the acceleration and commercialisation of Vector.ai’s products. He will lead all growth activities including marketing, sales, customer success and strategic partnerships.

Mr van der Walt, who has also been president of Cargo Network Services (CNS), and worked at IATA for 10 years, said: “I’m excited to join such a dynamic team who are collaborating with clients and partners across the globe to modernise and transform the freight forwarding industry with cutting edge AI technology.

“I’m feeling privileged and thankful for this amazing opportunity to continue serving and contributing to our incredible industry’s modernisation and future sustainability.”

Vector founder James Coombes said: “Lionel’s industry and leadership experience is invaluable as we continue to supercharge forwarders’ customer service through new products, offerings and capabilities.

“His 20-plus-year track record of on-the-ground logistics work and supply chain management empowers us to take the next step in our growth journey.”

Vector.ai’s recently announced AI-payments integrations, as well as its enhanced arrival notice capabilities, will be at the core of Mr van der Walt’s focus. Vector.ai aims to become a complete operations hub for freight forwarders.