In a groundbreaking move this past June, MARPRO embarked on a new journey into the heart of the German maritime industry with the opening of its latest office in Hamburg. This strategic expansion not only reinforces MARPRO’s commitment to growth but also underscores its dedication to becoming a talent broking powerhouse in the global maritime industry.

At the forefront of MARPRO Germany is an experienced maritime professional, Margarita Chalmer, bringing a wealth of industry knowledge and passion to her role as the face of MARPRO Germany.

This move underscores MARPRO’s strategic vision for growth and recognizes Hamburg and the German North as a pivotal hub for maritime activities, given the city’s bustling port and vibrant maritime community in and around Hamburg.

Now, let’s meet the driving force behind MARPRO’s German venture, Margarita Chalmer. Serving as the Managing Director of MARPRO in Germany, Margarita’s extensive background in general and talent management and genuine passion for maritime affairs position her as the ideal leader for this exciting new chapter.

1. How do you feel about your new role as the Managing Director of MARPRO’s new office in Germany?

Humbled – and very excited. It is a great task and a welcome personal challenge. But more importantly I feel being a part of the small international organization that understands all about finding maritime and shipping talent and how to deliver based on smart ideas and solid work. The MARPRO team is very experienced and dedicated, knows how to get things done and finds the relevant maritime and shipping talent reliably.

2. What business impact on MARPRO are you expecting to achieve with your new role?

The primary task for MARPRO Germany is to uncover the parts of the German maritime economic sector that can immediately or medium-term benefit from the MARPRO services. This sector embraces shipbuilding and shipping, the associated supply industry, the offshore wind energy sector, maritime services, ports, hydraulic engineering, fishing, and aquaculture and provides for over 400.000 jobs in Germany. The access to the valuable talent pool and a pricing model that is affordable for the client and motivational for the recruiting company determine the choices for the partnership and the quality of the deliveries.

3. How will you approach the task of identifying new business opportunities to grow MARPRO in Germany?

The most natural approach will be starting in Northern Germany and focusing on small and medium sized companies from the maritime & shipping sector that are challenged by the lack of access to the needed talent, have small dedicated HR teams with defined strategic focuses, have a need for an additional affordable recruiting capacity, have in parts worked with external recruiting experts and look for fresh insights and additional pool of relevant talent to tap into.

MARPRO Search & Selection offers a unique approach to the selection of recruiting consultants with knowledge and understanding of Maritime & Shipping, conducts active sourcing in combination with tailor-made support for its clients’ employer branding and is committed to operationally execute and deliver within well-defined competitive timelines. Making this known and getting assignments to show the MARPRO ways of working will convince many to subscribe to a medium to long-term partnership.

4. What will be the greatest challenges for you / MARPRO Germany?

German maritime and shipping businesses are very methodical in the selection of their business partners. It takes on average somewhat longer to show that there is a significant potential for a fruitful collaboration with a newcomer on the market.

Yet the MARPRO business model speaks for itself and has convinced already many outside of Germany. More specifically, we have a very successful office in Netherlands and have recently founded presence in Greece, more offices to come in the global maritime & shipping hubs in a not-too-distant future.

5. What are some of the most important skills for you in your role to succeed in Germany?

Genuine respect for the client’s needs, reliability in delivery, persistence, operational accuracy and transparency, and competency in what we do as recruiting consultants. German business values at their core must be serviced in every respect.

6. What market trends should MARPRO focus on to succeed in the German market?

I had a chance to talk to various German HR professionals representing shipping companies, ship suppliers and ship builders. Lack of hands among experts and managerial workforce is a commonly shared situation, although the individual needs for specific profiles differ. In high demand are technical & engineering profiles of varying specialization and business analysts / data scientists – both are talent pools we have dependable experience with. There can be many other profiles that are relevant for the maritime & shipping sector and that we can help with as well: sales, procurement, compliance, legal etc. With every new consultant joining the MARPRO family, the portfolio of talent we can vet grows – and we offer a clearly structured recruiting process that is 100% digitally integrated – for some of our clients a great efficiency addition to their HR operation.

As part of her introduction to the German maritime scene, Margarita Chalmer will be attending Europort, providing a unique opportunity for visitors and exhibitors to meet her and engage in discussions about recruitment in the German industry. Don’t miss the chance to connect, gain insights, and explore potential collaborations.

Margarita Chalmer, Managing Director
Email: mc@marpro.dk
Connect with Margarita here.