Foresight, reliability, and adaptability are some of the many traits to describe a CEO. Dropping out of the university and starting a shipping company that has arguably become one of Ghana’s most successful enterprises, this business magnate has proven to be nothing but visionary and embedded with adroitness.
Meet Daniel McKorley, the CEO of McDan Group of Companies, one of Ghana’s long-standing freight forwarding and logistics provider.
Like most self-made successful business owners, Daniel McKorley began his journey through the brush strokes of humble beginnings. The CEO of McDan Shipping was once a houseboy, driver’s mate, pupils’ teacher, and a doughnut and kerosene seller. He started his current business in the freight forwarding and logistics service as a messenger and slowly rose through the ranks establishing the McDan Shipping Company, a division of the McDan Group of Companies in November 1999 with its headquarters in Accra and branches in Tema and Takoradi.
The McDan Shipping Company now has a presence in over 2000 major air and seaports worldwide.
Two years ago, Daniel McKorley said his biggest challenge as an entrepreneur was finding competent human resources and as such was not going to employ based on degrees or certificates any longer but rather employ based on attitudes.
“‘I have decided to employ attitude and not degrees and certificates. So, now when you appear on my interview panel, I will employ based on your attitude,” a statement he made two (2) years ago.
The Entrepreneurship Challenge
In light of this, Daniel McKorley established the McDan Entrepreneurship Challenge. The entrepreneurship challenge is a reality tv show which gives young entrepreneurs the platform to pitch their business ideas for the ultimate prize of US$100,000 in funds and mentorship/coaching programs under the endorsement and guidance of the McDan Group of Companies.
The CEO of McDan Shipping, and his company have received several awards over the years of which some includes,
• Freight Forwarding and entrepreneur of the year (2013)
• Leading Clearing and Forwarding Company in West Africa – Togo (2015)
• The Entrepreneur of the Year (2016)
• Brand of the Year (2017)
• Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility (2017)
• Best Company in Providing Educational Facilities (2017)
Aside from being an astute CEO, Daniel Mckorly through the McDan Group of Companies gives back to communities. The company in the past month pledged an investment of GHc30 million to transform the grassless Teshie Star Park into a multi-purpose sports complex.
