MARIA TORRENT MARCH
EXECUTIVE INSIGHT
Q . TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR CAREER
» I ’ m Spanish and in my last year at university I came to the UK as part of an exchange programme , which is when I met my husband . When I finished the degree I had to decide whether to go back to Spain and find a job there or stay in the UK . I decided to stay and ended up in logistics completely by accident , which shows how long I ’ ve been in the industry because that ’ s very much a generational thing . At university there was no possibility to study logistics or supply chain management , so I did business administration and management and it seemed like the right fit . I then went through a graduate programme at a company where I spent nearly 17 years . I was very fortunate because it allowed me to see all aspects of logistics , from sea freight and air freight to imports , exports and transportation – I think I did everything except driving ! I rotated round all the departments and with the last one , contract logistics , I fell in love with being able to apply the knowledge I ’ d gained and offer solutions across the end-to-end supply chain . I ’ ve had all sorts of roles and responsibilities over the years , including commercial and operational roles . In my previous role , I managed the contract logistics side of the business and was a board director for six years . We managed to achieve great things , but I ’ m someone who cannot stay still – I don ’ t like to stagnate . When the opportunity came to work for Iron Mountain , a large company which is making investments and has
MARIA TORRENT MARCH
TITLE : WAREHOUSING & LOGISTICS STRATEGY DIRECTOR
COMPANY : IRON MOUNTAIN
INDUSTRY : LOGISTICS & WAREHOUSING
LOCATION : LUTTERWORTH , UK
Originally from Spain and now based in the UK , Maria Torrent March has spent almost 20 years in logistics . These days she serves as Warehousing & Logistics Strategy Director at Iron Mountain .
a lot of funds available , and I heard about its plans in third-party logistics ( 3PL ), I thought it was the right time .
Q . WHAT SPECIFICALLY ATTRACTED YOU TO WORKING FOR IRON MOUNTAIN ?
» Iron Mountain decided to enter the 3PL industry , which is unusual because the market has been shrinking , rather than the other way around . And they didn ’ t do it halfway – they decided to invest in 13 warehouses in the UK in a period of two to three years . It was a big investment with big ambition and I joined to support those ambitious growth plans with a strategy . In my role , I spend my time thinking about a mixture of the present and the future . The present is about making sure we have all
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