After an amazing 42 years of continuous service with Grace in Australia, Jim Peterson is stepping down. Jim has been a familiar face to many in the moving industry, having represented Grace at more than 50 international moving conventions during his 25 years as manager of International Development.

Jim attended his first international moving conference in 1997 at the Household Goods Forwarders Association convention in San Francisco and immediately embraced the opportunity to meet fellow movers from all over the world. Over the subsequent years, he became a regular and much-loved member of the overseas agent fraternity. Jim somehow managed to cultivate the image of an easy-going Aussie ‘larrikin’, while at the same time being respected as one of the most knowledgeable and credible specialists when it came to successfully negotiating the vagaries of Australian customs and quarantine processes.

Reflecting on his career in international moving, Jim, like many in the business, acknowledges how fortunate he has been to somehow stumble into an industry filled with such friendly and supportive colleagues from around the world, many of whom have become lifelong friends. Interestingly, he believes the industry has matured from a time when earlier agent meetings were dominated by tonnage and reciprocity comparisons, towards meetings and conversations which are now less transactional and more based around relationship-building with an emphasis on customer service metrics.

Jim boasts that despite the many late nights he spent socialising with industry colleagues, he never once missed a meeting. This is a claim Grace has been unable to refute.

Despite the advent of replacement meetings via Zoom and Teams, which according to Jim lack both emotion and connection, he remains convinced of the benefits of regularly getting together with overseas partners, enjoying each other’s company and discussing business over a beer at the bar.

Jim has decided the time is right to step back from work and enjoy more time with his partner Leanne and their two young grandchildren. Jim is a keen golfer, raving-mad Australian football supporter and a ‘green thumb’ gardener and is looking forward to indulging in his passions beyond the international moving business.

Fortunately for Grace, Jim has offered to return from time to time to share his knowledge and provide specialist training and mentorship to the next generation of international moving protégés.

Photo: Jim Peterson