Fresh Perspective

Josephita Harry

Vice president of nonferrous metals and electronic scrap sales at Pan American Zinc

Josephita Harry began working in technology consulting after she received a bachelor’s degree in electronics and instrumentation engineering from India’s University of Madras in 2004. But, she says, about 10 years ago, she realized she didn’t enjoy her work and wanted a change. “I was in search of a career, something I wanted to do joyfully for the rest of my life.”

Harry took a year off work to travel as she figured out her career path. “I like to travel, and I wanted to make a difference, but I didn’t know how I was going to do that,” she says. “I did talk about it to everyone I met during my travels.”

While traveling in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Harry met someone in the scrap recycling industry who told her about the industry and offered her a job as a trader for a Dubai-based scrap company.

Harry says she approached the opportunity “with openness and willingness to learn.” She continues, “From day one until now, I haven’t stopped learning. I’m not bored. I can say with certainty today that I see myself in this industry very long term.”

About five years ago, Harry moved to the U.S. to work as a trader at Miami-based Pan American Zinc. She currently serves as the company’s vice president of nonferrous metals and electronic scrap sales. She shares her perspective in the Q&A that follows.

”I can say with certainty today that I see myself in this industry very long term.”

Recycling Today (RT): What is working at Pan American Zinc like?

Josephita Harry (JH): Pan American Zinc was started six to seven years ago. I was one of the first few employees. … It’s great to be a part of something that starts small and is still continuing to grow bigger over the years.

We put a lot of emphasis on the quality of life and trying to have a balance between work and personal lives. When you’re happy and fulfilled, you’re able to bring that to your work, your customers, your suppliers and your clients, and that’s important.

I’m very honored to be a part of this team.

RT: Overall, what would you say are the biggest challenges the recycling industry faces today?

JH: One of the biggest challenges … is the supply chain issue. The availability of containers and bookings and drayage [and] the combination of getting all of them lined up … has been a bit of a nightmare. It’s taken a lot more effort to get everything aligned. It’s been an issue for the most part of last year. It [did not] seem to ease out much starting this year. It seemed like it started getting better, but … I think we just learned to deal with it better.

We have changed our approach on how we deal with it, be it allocating an extra resource or two to get the same work done … and also having partners in what we do. For example, we use multiple freight forwarders in different countries and geographies that we ship to, and they have all been extremely helpful in stepping up their support when it’s really needed, and it goes a long way.

RT: Are there any new technologies that you hope to see the industry embrace more?

JH: In the short term, I would say embracing business intelligence and reports would be good. … Two things I believe will be coming in the next five to 10 years are artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain.

If there’s port congestion in another part of the world, AI would let us know ahead of time. You can then anticipate corrective actions. … Blockchain makes everything more secure. So, a combination of both would help businesses make better decisions and be better prepared.