Vikram Nair of RHENUS Air & Ocean Ltd and Gerard Kiernan representing the IIFA Steering group for the 2026 Young Irish Freight Forwarder of the Year competition
Vikram Nair of IIFA Full Trading Member RHENUS Air & Ocean Ltd has been selected as IIFA’s Young Irish Freight Forwarder of the Year for 2026.
The Young Irish Freight Forwarder of the Year competition opened last October, with a two-round process for 2026. Participants submitted a video entry outlining their career to date in the first round in November 2025. From a wide pool of entries, four Finalists from the IIFA membership body were selected and moved forward.
This is the third year of this national competition, which has a dual aim of giving focus to the diligent and creative work of rising stars in the industry and acting as a selection process for Ireland’s Candidate for the annual FIATA Young Logistics Professional Award (YLP). The YLP requires Candidates to pen a 6,000-word thesis, focusing on a key export and a key import shipment, effectively detailing a solid case study for both shipments and the challenges within same.
(Left to Right) Eoin O’Connor, Emerald Freight Express Ltd, Aleksander Nawrot, Aqua-Trans International Ltd, Kasia Steyn, Member of the IIFA Steering Group, Priscila Martins, Kuehne & Nagel Ireland Ltd, Vikram Nair of RHENUS Air & Ocean Ltd and winner of the competition and Gerard Kiernan and Bob Rainsford, both members of the IIFA Steering Group for the competition
Round 2 for the Irish 2026 competition differed from 2025 in that Finalists took part in a Presentation Evening event through which they detailed what their prospective Export and Import shipments would be for the FIATA YLP, should they be selected to represent Ireland. Each of the Finalists presented to a crowd comprising the Steering Committee, their fellow Finalists (many with the support of their Employers on the night) and IIFA Council in the Grand Hotel, Malahide, Co. Dublin. Each of the Finalists were praised for their efforts by the Steering Group, who highlighted the masterful levels of research evident within each submission and the presentation skills from each candidate which were of notably polished quality.
IIFA will now formally nominate Vikram to FIATA as Ireland’s chosen Candidate for the 2026 FIATA YLP. Vikram will commence his own work on preparing his thesis, which will be submitted to FIATA at the close of April 2026. The FIATA YLP has two rounds in itself: 4x regional areas comprising Africa and Middle East, Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Vikram must first compete with the other nominated candidates from Europe and if successful, his entry may go forward for final consideration at the 2026 FIATA World Congress in Milan, Italy in October 2026.
IIFA also wishes to acknowledge the four finalists and their Employers who supported them throughout the selection process and at the presentation evening:
Aqua-Trans International Ltd, Emerald Freight Express Ltd, Kuehne & Nagel Ireland Ltd and RHENUS Air & Ocean Ltd.
IIFA wish Vikram the very best as he prepares his thesis and looks forward to seeing Ireland continue to be represented at international level through FIATA.
