People who work in the port industry are open to the world – like Barbara Allendes from Valparaíso, Chile. After five years travelling the South American continent in various positions as a business process manager and management consultant for a port operator in the Americas she wanted to “change her perspective and get to know something new”. Her goal was a radical change of location to another continent: a country with a different language and a different culture. Why did she choose HPC in Hamburg? “I was already familiar with HPC through business connections. In 2011, I received a scholarship to study project management information technology in Germany. The programme was very good and helped me substantially,” says the Chilean. The good international reputation of the EU country with the strongest economy also played a role in her decision.

When she moved from the Pacific to the Elbe in the first autumn of the Covid-19 pandemic, her immersion in the new language and culture was initially hampered by contact restrictions. Rather than working on German, she perfected her English for video communication with the HPC team and with international customers like HHLA TK Estonia. For this company, the operator of Estonia’s most important multi-purpose terminal in the port of Muuga near Tallinn, she was jointly responsible for the planning and analysis of an order management system (OMS). “The customer wanted to improve the efficacy of the processes which start when the customer order is placed up until the business is paid, so they needed a concept with a roadmap for its replacement and its integration in the IT ecosystem of the port.”

The computer scientist with a master’s degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso combines her expertise with her joy of learning and sharing experiences: “I think it’s exciting to acquire new knowledge and learn from the experiences of others. I’m interested in the different perspectives and the approaches other people have to a problem. This openness benefits me when I’m collaborating with customers and colleagues.”

"At HPC, the Senior Consultant likes the fact that she can take on very diverse tasks. For example, she represents to HPC in the region, she led the project team that created a concept for the energy management system for the Colombian port of Cartagena; she also developed recommendations for the digital transformation of Chilean ports and PCS for Brazilian ports.

Meanwhile, Barbara is also enjoying life in the metropolis on the Elbe. She enjoys exercise in the fresh air, whether jogging with colleagues or hiking with friends in the green countryside around Hamburg. And when people start dancing to tango music on the Magellan Terraces in HafenCity, it makes her feel happy that the continents are in harmony despite their differences.