While numerous leadership styles may be effective in managing a company or organization, there are specific leadership skills that can have a profound impact. For a business to realize success, its leader must embody traits such as passion, determination, and the necessary knowledge and expertise to accomplish long-term objectives. Visionary leaders possess these fundamental qualities and more. They possess an extraordinary capability to envision a company’s future and motivate employees to adopt a unified vision. By fostering discipline and innovation, visionary leaders cultivate enhanced productivity, which is advantageous to the business as a whole.
With over two decades of professional experience across a multitude of sectors, including strategic business consulting, energy commodities trading, shipping operations, international development, and policy formulation, Mr. Peter Malcom King is a highly experienced and knowledgeable leader. He has held senior internal and external consultant roles for a range of esteemed organizations in Europe, the United States, and Africa. Currently the CEO of GLS Group, Mr. King is the primary strategist and leads the commercial team. He is responsible for maintaining a robust commercial pipeline, managing stakeholder and investor relationships, and driving the overall success of the organization.
GLS GROUP
GLS Group is a premier provider of comprehensive logistics services in the Mano River Union, offering innovative solutions to clients that create mutual benefits and are in line with responsible business practices and social responsibility. By leveraging the team’s expertise to inform decision- making, GLS Group enables clients to make informed choices that maximize the social and environmental impact while promoting sustainability.
GLS Group is a leading provider of comprehensive and integrated logistics services within the Mano River Union. With a wealth of experience in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, mining, construction, agriculture, forestry, and shipping, the company provides tailored solutions to its diverse array of clients. GLS Group collaborates with entities such as APM Terminals (Port Operator), CMA CGM (shipping), ArcelorMittal (iron ore mining), LonestarcellMTN (telecoms), Total (oil and gas), UNDP/WFP (development aid), CICA Motors (automotive), and Bridge Academies (education) to optimize performance and efficiency, reduce costs, eliminate downtime, and stimulate growth. Through its proactive and pragmatic approach to each project, combined with risk assessment, security, and contingency planning, GLS Group is uniquely positioned to deliver effective services.
Over the past five years, GLS and its partners have invested more than US$25 million in infrastructure projects, such as the Roberts Air Cargo Logistics Centre and the Inland Storage & Distribution Facility in Liberia. The company’s next five-year strategic plan is to expand its logistics and transport infrastructure assets by approximately US$200 million. GLS has already invested heavily in various pipeline infrastructure projects, including an inland port project in Guinea, a multi- purpose logistics park in Alaro City, Lagos, and an export container handling facility in Liberia, totaling over US$75 million. These projects have been made possible through the company’s partnerships with renowned Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), such as IFC and InfraCo Africa, and its strong relationships with leading commercial banks.
Instilling Values in Workplace
GLS Group’s values are centred around the 6 Ps: people, performance, profitability, professionalism, passion, and productivity. GLS has invested significantly in capacity development and competence building. As a company, GLS continues to create synergies with global leaders in their field and has made learning new skills the core of their people development strategy. GLS places a strong emphasis on professionalism, passion, and productivity and strives to maintain high standards in these areas to ensure the best possible outcomes for their clients.
Collaborating with clients to achieve sustainable outcomes is an essential step towards building long- term relationships and creating mutual benefits. It also shows a commitment to responsible business practices and social responsibility. By influencing the decision-making process, the GLS team helps clients make informed choices that promote sustainability and maximize their social and environmental impact.
Making failures the first step to success
Mr. King’s philosophy on success is straightforward: whatever one chooses to pursue, do it with exceptional dedication. He believes that success is all about making a difference and approaching things differently than others. Throughout his career spanning over twenty-five years, Mr. King has learned valuable lessons, including the importance of trusting his instincts and making quick decisions. He has also faced various challenges, such as a lack of support from peers and family, illiquidity, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and poorly trained human resources. However, Mr. King considers overcoming the fear of failure to be the most significant challenge. He believes that by embracing innermost fears, one can become unstoppable in his or her pursuit of success.
GLS Group’s values are centred around the 6 Ps: people, performance, profitability, professionalism, passion, and productivity. GLS has invested significantly in capacity development and competence building, creating synergies with global leaders in their field and making learning new skills the core of their people development strategy. The company places a strong emphasis on professionalism, passion, and productivity, striving to maintain high standards in these areas to ensure the best possible outcomes for their clients. GLS also collaborates with clients to achieve sustainable outcomes, demonstrating a commitment to responsible business practices and social responsibility. By influencing the decision-making process, GLS helps clients make informed choices that promote sustainability and maximize their social and environmental impact. Moreover, Mr. King’s philosophy on success is that whatever one chooses to pursue, do it with exceptional dedication, making quick decisions and embracing innermost fears in order to become unstoppable in their pursuit of success.
Humble Beginnings
After obtaining his university education, Mr. King embarked spent his early career in Nigeria before relocating to Europe for advance studies and career development. Determined to become a successful entrepreneur in Africa, he gathered invaluable experience from working in telecoms, business consulting, commodities, and oil and gas industries. In 2012, he returned to Liberia to found GLS, with the vision of becoming a leading integrated logistics solutions provider in West Africa. He affirms, “We are aiming to accomplish this goal by utilizing our local knowledge, expertise, and global network to provide our customers with the highest quality of service and solutions.”
Mr. King is currently the Chairman of several corporate boards, such as GLS Offshore Holdings, GLS NAS (a joint venture with NAS Kuwait, having acquired Menzies Aviation recently), and Liberia Inland Storage & Distribution Services Company, a joint venture between GLS Group and InfraCo Africa (a subsidiary of the Private Infrastructure Development Group). He holds a degree in Microbiology, as well as an e-MBA from the CWC School of Energy in London, UK.
Day to Day Life
Mr. King starts his day at 8 a.m. after breakfast and school runs. He reviews emails before attending a series of meetings with key staff, working until 6 p.m. Mr. King considers himself to be a maverick, someone who is unconventional and independent-minded. His wife Vanessa helps him maintain a healthy work-life balance, although it can be difficult to keep work from encroaching on his personal life. He makes an effort to spend quality time with his family, driven by the ambition to be the best at all he does and give his best effort to anything worth pursuing.
Message for Young Minds
Mr. King’s future plans for GLS are to become a listed company on a leading European exchange and the most widely recognized logistics company in Africa. His message to aspiring leaders is to work hard, stay focused, travel often, read a lot, and build a great network of friends. He asserts, “We must realize that our continent has the best and brightest minds but yet we burdened by poverty. We must invest not only in ourselves but, more importantly, in the next generation. By doing this, we ensure the next generation is equipped with the required life skills to excel. Discipline is key.” Mr. King’s goal is to develop fearless young leaders to continue the good work we have started and to ensure, we (Africans) not only change the narrative but owned it.”
