Justin’s First 100 Days at Friday

First Impressions

It’s been a while since Justin Archard has gone through an onboarding process, having run his own company in recent years. But at Friday & Co., everything was seamless. “I walked in, took a seat, and everything was set up. I could get straight to work.”

His first impression? A fun, friendly, and tight-knit team.

“Rod hasn’t assembled this team through luck and chance. It’s people with the right approach and personality. Friday is much more personable than a big corporate brokerage. We do a lot together socially, which helps balance the fact that S&P brokerage can be quite a siloed job. Unlike other brokerage roles, you’re not necessarily working on deals together as a team, but we make up for that with the social side of things.”

For Justin, life moves in circles. “Being here is a big change and the start of a new circle. I’ve no idea how it will unfold, but I’m bringing my flexibility, and I want to be useful.” Even though his background isn’t in S&P, years in the industry meant that Rod gave him the freedom to hit the ground running and just get on with it.

The Penknife Approach

Much like his windsurfing skills, Justin is an all-rounder when it comes to shipping industry knowledge. “I’m not a single-discipline superstar, but I can combine all the things that I know, which covers many different skill sets across chartering, brokering and shipping business.”

Earlier in his career, Justin chased every opportunity.
“I mean every single one. But over time, I’ve learned to conserve energy and filter out the dud deals. Let’s put it this way: I’ve chased a lot of rainbows. And while