Geopolitics of the Sea: Claudio Bozzo, COO of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, speaks to the AIC
Geneva, 17 June 2021
For our first in-person luncheon of the year, the AIC welcomed Claudio Bozzo, the COO of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company to speak to the Club about his views on the geopolitics of the sea.
Not surprisingly, Claudio was born and raised by the sea in Genoa, an important Italian port city whose maritime prominence dates back centuries. However, it was in New York that he joined MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, in 1994. He began as a clerk and rose quickly through the ranks to become President and CEO of MSC USA, just 11 years later, in 2005.
Claudio was then appointed to the newly created global position of Chief Operating Officer at MSC’s global headquarters here in Geneva in 2014. He now supervises worldwide operations including more than 400 offices in 140 countries and 27,000 people.
Throughout his career, Claudio has accumulated a long list of awards and recognitions, recently becoming Ambassador of Genoa in the world by the Mayor of Genoa in 2018 and was named Chairman of the safety and security Council of the World Shipping Council in 2020. He is also currently the President of the Association of International Chambers of Commerce and the Swiss Romande President of the Swiss Italian Chamber of Commerce.
Claudio first surprised the AIC President by offering her a bouquet of flowers to mark her first luncheon at the helm of the AIC. Beginning his presentation, he then surprised the audience by telling us that MSC is in the construction business, not the transportation business! He further explained that in fact MSC builds bridges between countries by connecting ports with cargo container ships worth US $200 million each. Effectively, this is free investment in infrastructure for a country, can open new trade markets and has a network impact on the local economy.
The power in the shipping industry, he says, lies in where the “bridge” is built and what size it is to be. It is a power that can potentially change the world. Countries have understood that and are using it to influence and shape world politics.
The presentation was lively, eye-opening, and thought provoking. Claudio is an entertaining and informed speaker, and was highly appreciated by the audience, many of whom requested he speak again to the Club soon. He answered many of the audience’s numerous questions, and was then awarded a lifetime membership to the AIC by its President to thank him for his presentation.