March 10, 2016
“People do deals with who they trust and know”
“People do deals with who they trust and know,” says Matthew Blake, Director of Business Development in Teekay Tankers. With over 20 years in Teekay, he has closed more deals than he can count. He describes his job as kind of a valve – “sometimes we want to open the valve and add ships to the fleet and at other times we want to shut it off and take fixed rate cover instead.”
He has called many cities his home, including Hong Kong, London, Singapore, Seoul, Phuket, Houston and Southern California
Matthew is a world citizen. He was born in Hong Kong where he lived his first years of life and grew up in London. Over the years he has called many cities his home, including Hong Kong, London, Singapore, Seoul, Phuket, Houston, Southern California and now Singapore again where he lives with his family and two dogs. “It’s great to come home after a long trip to wagging tails and eager faces.”
Colin Gray, Chartering and Freight Trading, and Matthew Blake in Athens, Greece
“We operate in a competitive environment with many companies looking to execute on the same deals as we’re looking at.”
Being around the globe is just the nature of his job. Matthew’s role demands travel to maintain relationships with a diverse network of customers and partners. In a usual year he’ll visit Asia (China, India and Middle East), Europe, North America and Australia. “We operate in a competitive environment with many companies looking to execute on the same deals as we’re looking at, but people do deals with who they trust and know.”
“If I knew the end result of my efforts before I start, then where is the stimulation?”
With the volatile market conditions, Matthew’s job involves a great deal of uncertainty – “Do we move?, Do we hold back?, If we move, how much do we want to pay (or earn)?, What’s the effect on different parts of our business?, Have we picked the right counter-party to deal with?, what’s happening with macro-economics? Not all questions can be answered at the time.” And that’s what he finds exciting. “If I knew the end result of my efforts before I start, then where is the stimulation?”
“I have a sense of pride that they know they’re in dialogue with a first class tanker owner.”
“I’m proud that Owners of tankers trust Teekay with their ships for us to commercially manage on their behalf, and also that we can visit major customers where our reputation opens doors for us. When I visit a customer or shipowner looking to win a contract or close a deal, I have a sense of pride that they know they’re in dialogue with a first class tanker owner who will go the extra mile to get their business and once we’ve won their business, keep performing to the highest standards onboard and ashore.”
