thoughtleaders
BY MARK B. SOLOMON, SENIOR EDITOR
toughest
job
on the
planet? INTERVIEW WITH STEPHEN CAHILL
The
If something goes amiss with one of your shipments, you might
have an irate customer on your hands. If one of Stephen Cahill’s
World Food Programme shipments goes awry, people could die.
WE ALL HAVE DEMANDING JOBS. BUT IT’S ALL RELATIVE.
If one of your shipments is lost, diverted, or delayed, you might have an angry customer or a
ticked-off boss, but that’s about it. If one of Stephen Cahill’s shipments goes awry, people could die.
Cahill’s official title is head of contracting, ocean transportation services, for the Rome-based
World Food Programme (WFP). Each year, the group coordinates the distribution of more than
4 million tons of relief supplies to over 100 million people who might otherwise go hungry. Half
of the food distributed by WFP is transported by ocean to 78 world ports; the rest is sourced in
either the country or region where it is needed.
