Meet the John Mason team: Mike Dann, International Move Manager
Mike Dann
International Move Manager
From an early age, Mike had always been fascinated by the port of Liverpool which was near where he lived as a young boy. This experience, combined with tales from his father who worked as electrician on-board ships, meant that Mike was ultimately destined for a life in the shipping industry. Mike began his lifelong career in shipping at a freight forwarding company in 1970 which gave him an excellent grounding in all aspects of the transport business. Mike remained in this job for seven years before moving to a higher position in a major shipping line.
Whilst working for the shipping line, Mike initially dealt with bookings, quotations, documentation and transport. Part of his job at this stage was also the role of Water Clerk, which involved looking after the ships whilst they were docked in the port. This experience has certainly given him many funny stories about the savoury and unsavoury characters he met during this time! He promptly worked his way up to become Documentation Manager for the country and eventually became responsible for the Liverpool, London and Felixstowe offices. Unfortunately the shipping line collapsed and so after 18 years at the company, Mike was forced to move on.
Due to his extensive experience and previous title as UK Documentation Manager, Mike easily found another high profile job in the shipping industry. His next role in another shipping line developed from documentation to bookings and quotations and ultimately he became involved in sales, a role he greatly enjoyed. After five years in this position, Mike felt the time was right for a new challenge and took the opportunity to join international removals company John Mason International.
Mike started working for John Mason in 1999 and since then has been relishing the day to day challenges he faces in the international moving industry. He began as a Move Manager in the private sales department but his experience and personality meant that he was quickly promoted to looking after one of John Mason’s largest corporate accounts. Mike has spent the last eight years working in John Mason’s corporate sales department and is still responsible for some of John Mason’s major accounts. He particularly enjoys the variety of his work and finds it both interesting and challenging.
In his free time, Mike enjoys travelling and had a particularly unforgettable experience when he was caught in Hurricane Ivan in the Cayman Islands in 2004. During that time, he spent three nights in a hurricane shelter before being evacuated to Miami. Although it was of course an unnerving event, Mike typically made the best of the situation and formed a strong bond with the other people in the shelter and the locals on the island which culminated in a large BBQ and party when they were able to leave the shelter!
