Raised on Germany’s Baltic coast, Maxim Neiser has been enchanted by ships and ports for as long as he can remember. An internship with Rostock’s port-logistics operator and a bachelor’s degree in Maritime Logistics at Wismar University paved the way. Trusting his instincts, he moved to Hamburg University of Technology for a master’s in Logistics, Infrastructure & Mobility, worked as a student assistant at the Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services, and wrote his thesis while employed at the Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center (HVCC). That joint venture led him aboard HHLA’s consultancy arm, HPC. “It’s a perfect fit,” he says.

“HPC has supplied project managers to our sister company HVCC for years,” explains Maxim, who has been one of them since 2020. HVCC’s digital platform aggregates data from deep-sea, feeder and inland vessels - as well as rival terminals - then shares it with the wider port community. What thrills this dyed-in-the-wool Hanseatic is the cooperative mindset he experiences every day: HVCC colleagues propose improvements, he translates them into product requirements and hands them off to the software team. One example? “After the Elbe River was dredged, we had to recalculate tidal-window parameters for vessel traffic.”

As a project manager, Maxim also uses simulation to plan and optimise container-terminal layouts - from Hamburg’s Burchardkai to Callao in Peru and Christchurch in New Zealand. Each harbour reignites his enthusiasm: behind every terminal lies a unique blend of operational and technical processes. New terrain, new challenges, new tricks—constant learning, testing and shaping keep the work far more rewarding than simply crunching numbers. Whether on the water side or the land side, he views both through a process-and-software lens to craft solutions tailored to each port.

Ports, he notes, are still largely male-dominated, which makes outliers like Callao all the more refreshing: there, women make up 80 percent of terminal-operations control. Maxim values mixed teams because “they create a more cooperative atmosphere that brings different ideas together”—something he also enjoys while lecturing at northern German universities.

When Maxim hops on his bike each morning, it’s more than a commute. The few kilometres clear his head, keep him fit and save a little CO₂. They also double as training for his other passion: triathlon. The blend of swimming, cycling and running fascinates him - separate disciplines that ultimately hinge on endurance. Much like a port, he says, where many processes must dovetail seamlessly before staying power makes the difference.