From the floors of major carriers to the executive suites of top broking houses, Lance Grant has seen the industry’s highs, lows and everything in between. After decades at the top, most would measure success by prestige and recognition. Yet today, as Chief Operating Officer at QRG, Grant’s focus is not on accolades but on seeing the business hum.
“Operations can be a fairly thankless task – and I don’t mean for that to sound like a sob story. I mean that when people notice operations, it’s because something’s gone wrong. I’m happy that I don’t need to be recognised as long as things are working.”
It’s a candid reflection from the man who manages QRG’s engine room. Having seen how layered hierarchies can slow decision-making, Grant notes, “I’ve worked within some pretty big organisations where a simple decision may have to go through half a dozen layers before you get an opportunity to implement or execute against something.”
At QRG, that bureaucracy is stripped away in favour of a culture that values initiative and the freedom to act decisively when opportunity knocks. “When something isn’t working, the faster you change it, the better your chances of success at pace. That’s a good thing about QRG: we’re not scared to fail and we’re not scared to change.”
It’s a philosophy that has been tested in practice. When the company sought to expand its European footprint earlier this year, a misstep in its entry into the Greek market could have stalled the entire effort. Instead of getting bogged down by internal procedures, the team moved quickly, trusted its initiative and leveraged direct connections to turn things around.
“We moved from thinking that we completely lost an opportunity to set up in the EU to recovering the situation in 24 hours,” Grant recalls.
The result: the acquisition of a marine-focused brokerage and the establishment of QRG’s European headquarters in Piraeus, a move that strengthened the company’s global reach and positioned it closer to key shipping clients.
The turnaround in Greece reaffirmed Grant’s view that strategy isn’t static; it’s a balance between ambition and intent – the long game and the immediate move. Grant and his team keep both in view, constantly scanning the market for disruptors, startups, regulatory changes and opportunities to modernise the way QRG does business.
“I’ve always been someone who looks at what’s coming and what I might have to do in order to deal with it,” he says. “And I’m lucky that the people around me have a similar mindset. I didn’t always have that.”
That sense of alignment at QRG is strengthened by solid, honest communication. “It isn’t always comfortable and some conversations can be daunting, but if they’re harnessed properly, that’s a good thing.”
It’s a principle that runs through everything Grant does: keep things honest, keep them moving and make sure the business never stops humming.