The British International Freight Association (BIFA) has named Robert Keen as its new Director General to succeed Peter Quantrill who retires from the trade association in August.Mr Keen, joined the industry in 1970 and worked for a succession of forwarders before joining BIFA in 1999. He was appointed an Executive Director of BIFA in 2009. He is also Chairman of the FIATA Multimodal Institute and a member of FIATA’s Extended Board; Vice Chairman of CLECAT’s Maritime Logistics Institute and a Member of the CLECAT’S Board. He has also been Chairman of the United Kingdom Air Cargo Club. Commented BIFA National Chairman, Carson McMullan: “We are delighted that Robert Keen has accepted our offer of promotion to Director General. He has had an excellent record of achievement since he joined BIFA and enjoys a great relationship with the membership. “His challenge will be to continue to develop BIFA’s four key objectives – representation and lobbying; the provision of advice and information; promotion and training - objectives to which Peter Quantrill, our Director General for the last seven years, made a significant contribution. “As the head of the established representative body for the international freight industry, Peter has provided the leadership of BIFA that has helped us to support our members in their efforts to secure their development in the global economy against a background of ever changing customer demands and new legislation.” Mr Keen added: “I am really pleased to be offered the opportunity to lead the trade association and am looking forward to working with the talented team within its Board of Directors, Council and Regional committees, as well as the management team in its secretariat. Working together we will drive forward BIFA’s representative role and deliver results for our membership.” Concluded Carson McMullan: “BIFA is in excellent shape with significant momentum and a clear strategy that has us well positioned to fulfil our role of providing effective representation and support for the UK and international freight services industry. We promote good practice and total quality in the provision of freight services by all Members, and encourage the membership to observe the highest standards of professional competence.”