CEO Insights Magazine

Owing to the volatile market conditions as well as strict regulations and compliances, vessel owners nowadays are opting for pooling, a platform offering commercial and employment management to a group of tankers/ vessels. Starting in 2009, Womar Logistics, a Singapore-based pool operating firm, has experienced massive growth in terms of portfolio & geographical expansion as well as client base and is considered one of the leading pool operating firms globally. One of the key forces behind the inspiring success of the firm is its COO, Manish Jain. Starting his career as a cadet to becoming a captain in 2004, Manish had an exemplary career in the shipping industry before joining the office. He joined Womar as Operations Director and later grew through the ranks to finally drive the firm’s growth as its COO. Under his inspiring leadership, Womar has become one of the leading pool operating firms offering a wide range of growth opportunities to its clients.

In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights ASIA, Manish sheds light on his overall professional background, his leadership approach as well as future roadmaps for the sector, and much more:

Give us a brief account of your professional background and experiences.

Born and brought up in a small town in Uttar Pradesh, India, I found shipping to be an attractive career with ample opportunities to travel around the world. I started my seagoing career in 1992 as a cadet on Chemical tankers and sailed on Oil, Chemical, and Gas Carriers. Over the years, I rose through the ranks before becoming a Captain in 2004 and sailed till 2007. After achieving everything I ever dreamed of while sailing, I finally joined the office as Operations Manager at W-O Marine, Singapore, in 2007. In 2009, I joined Womar Logistics as Operations Director, specializing in the pooling of chemical tankers for commercial deployment, before taking over as the COO of the firm in 2019.

Define Womar Logistics as an organization and its current position in the market. Tell us about your flagship offerings and the value additions customers can expect from your offerings.

Womar manages chemical tankers pools and is known to be one of the best in terms of service, results, and customer relationships. Compared to its peers in the industry, Womar's pools have registered maximum growth in the last few years. Many customers staying over 10 years with Womar through good and bad markets is a testament to the firm’s overall performance.

As already said above, we manage chemical tankers pools, a platform offering worldwide presence and earnings to the ship owners who lack the scale for offices worldwide and a global team. Rather than as a third-party Manager, the firm focuses on providing an efficient asset management experience like that of an in-house commercial manager to its customers. The services offered by the firm to its customers are flexible and way beyond the industry’s standard contractual obligations.

One of the prerequisites to enter Womar's pools is quality and like-minded customers, which ensures professional delivery of services to end customers while restricting the number of customers we can onboard at the firm. Customers have full flexibility in terms of trading choices, early exit, or a blend of contractual arrangements to meet their needs. Customers draw value from the worldwide presence of Womar and enjoy the scale benefits, participation in global trade lanes, and hedge against global markets and geopolitical moves.

Tell us about your leadership approach. What are the guidelines or methodologies you follow as a leader? Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?

My leadership approach is to lead by example and service. Instead of trying to attract customers by over promising and failing to deliver, the long-term approach should be about transparency, honesty, and professionalism. While customers with unrealistic expectations also know the possibilities, they still require us to try the impossible. Contractual relationships must transform into reliable partnerships, improving sustainability in the business processes.

I anticipate the shipping sector facing a barrage of regulations for decades to come, which includes chasing Green House Gas Emissions from the global fleet till we achieve Net Zero. This will bring years of investment into technologies from short to medium to long term on ships and land. At the same time, an entire industry will develop around it and will involve changes in terms of pedagogy followed in maritime institutes, training, certifications, surveys, and so on.

In light of your strong experience within the industry, what advice would you give to budding industry leaders?

My advice for budding industry leaders is to focus on understanding customer’s requirements and catering to their needs. In a fast-changing world, we often end up doing something completely different than what the customer requires. No customer should ever feel that they received poor or unprofessional advice from us. Satisfied customers are the best marketing tool. So instead of investing more in marketing, we should invest in the service, which would reap long-term results and multiply.

Manish Jain, COO, Womar Logistics

An accomplished professional with extensive experience in the maritime industry, Manish Jain currently works as the COO at the Singapore-based leading chemical tanker pool operating firm, Womar Logistics. An inspiring leader and strong believer in leading by example, Manish has done his initial schooling in Dhampur (Bijnor), UP, and later studied at Lal Bahadur Shastri Nautical & Engineering College and Fleetwood Nautical Campus of Blackpool & the Fylde College, UK.

• Hobbies: Sports (Badminton), Yoga, Travel, Volunteer work
• Favorite Cuisine: Artemis Grill & Sky Bar
• Favorite Book: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, A Better India A Better World, Read People Like a Book
• Favorite Travel Destination: Europe in autumn
• Awards & Recognition: Chairman of the International Parcel Tanker Association
  • Member of South East Asia Committee Korean Register of Shipping
  • Representing Womar on the board of Singapore Management University
  • Member of Environmental Working Group