It ’ s hard to know where Steve Howard is these days . Since signing on as the director of the World Parcel Alliance in July , CLDA ’ s former president has been to Shanghai , Vienna , Hong Kong , London , Amsterdam and more .
CLDA Magazine caught up with this globe-trotter between trips to Amsterdam and Orlando to find the answer to the burning question , “ Where in the world is Steve Howard ?”
CLDA Mag : This has been quite a ride for a kid from Buffalo , NY . Tell us about your new life and how it came about .
Howard : In July 2023 , I became the director of the World Parcel Alliance . WPA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the WCA World , the world ’ s largest network for independent freight forwarders . Freight forwarders use the members of the CLDA daily . When I owned my company , Esquire Express , freight forwarders made up my biggest client base . That ’ s why they decided to open a courier network . I am the Director of that network , the WPA . We are a global network of courier companies partnering with many international parcel shippers . International parcel companies look to WPA to do business globally with members of our network .
CLDA Mag : What is your role ? What do you do for a living ?
Howard : What do I do for a living ? I connect courier companies with parcel shippers to encourage them to join the network . My function is to identify global players that have a need , specifically here in the US and Europe , to grow their network . We have already partnered up with a few huge international shippers that collectively move over 40 billion packages a year . And they ’ re looking to expand into the US and Europe . I ’ m building a network of companies that want to grow their businesses .
CLDA Mag : This is quite the change for you . You spent many years running your own courier company . How did this come about ?
Howard : You ’ re right . I spent 33 1 / 3 years , a third of a century , with the company I started in Florida , but it was time for a transition . I ’ d been contemplating life after owning my own business . None of my three kids wanted to take over the business , and I knew at some point I was going to have to sell . Coincidentally , I ran into Matthew West from World Courier Network about two years ago at a conference . He discussed their vision of a network connecting last-mile providers to global shippers . I liked the idea of growing this network using my skills and the industry connections I ’ ve built over the last 33 years .
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