Twenty-four years ago, Karen M. Kenney started out as a summer messenger at Liberty International Inc., a Pawtucket-based, international-freight shipping logistics firm. Back then, much of Kenney’s workday would be filled with running from office to office, filing some documents, picking up others. To her, it was exciting work.
“I was going to college and I had a summer job at Liberty and just loved it,” said Kenney recently, who at that time was in the process of transferring from Marquette University to what was then Salve Regina College. “I used to go to work dressed in my running outfit and would pick up documents at customs or at the bank. But I’d also make sure the operations department had the bagels they liked and that their coffee was made the right way.”
In fact, she became so good at making sure things were done right that Kenney is now Liberty International’s chief operations officer. She’s held that position since January.
“Now I’m essentially in charge of all of the company’s operations,” Kenney said in a recent interview. “That includes sales, operations and our transportation division – everything except the financial and accounting aspects of the company.”
Along with its headquarters in Pawtucket, Liberty International has offices in Boston, Connecticut and, through its Logistics Express division, another office at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The company was founded in 1982, just three years before Kenney came aboard.
“Essentially what our company does is arrange for the import and export of cargo throughout the world – we’re like a travel agent for freight,” Kenney said. “If you’re buying toys in China and want to move them to the United States, we make those arrangements and file with all of the appropriate government agencies to legally bring it in.”
The company doesn’t just operate as an importer-exporter in the United States, but also as a “global” shipper, Kenney added. Liberty International also moves cargo between Europe and Asia or South America and Europe, for example. The company also offers U.S. Customs Service bonds and consulting on supply chain management.
Back when she started at Liberty International, Kenney only served as a messenger for a few months. She then moved into the import-operations division, where she stayed for about two years.
“The shipping and logistics industry was one of the last to be computerized – obviously this was a long time ago,” Kenney said. “So the company had bought a computer system and didn’t have anyone to operate the software.” Seeing potential in Kenney, one of Liberty’s owners asked her to be a new information technology manager, a position that she readily accepted.
“And that was a great opportunity because I had to learn what every division in the company did,” Kenney said, adding that she hadn’t before that had any formal computer training. “The company sent me off to take some hardware, software and peripheral classes to give me a leg up.”
Even then, you didn’t see many information technology managers that didn’t have an educational background in computers. “It was definitely unusual,” she said.
After about two years in that position, she was promoted to executive vice president. Kenney held that position until January 2009, when she was made COO.
Now, as the company expands, Kenney is seeing new employees who already have a background in studying logistics.
For the last two years, Kenney has also served as president of the Coalition for New England Companies for Trade (CONECT), a group with about 495 members that are mostly located in New England. She was one of the founding members of CONECT about 14 years ago. Once a year, the group heads to Washington, D.C., to lobby Rhode Island’s congressional delegation for free and fair trade regulations.
“That organization is a great resource for Rhode Island companies looking to expand, looking to open up in foreign markets,” she said. “It’s a great way to navigate the complexities that sometimes prevent Rhode Island companies from taking a step forward.”
Kenney is also seeking to broaden Liberty International’s global reach. Much of the Warwick native’s time is spent traveling in China and southeast Asia, where she does research and develops markets for the company. Exports have been growing “exponentially” and “during the economic crisis, imports are way down.”
With that shift, Kenney sees Liberty International’s role as “helping other Rhode Island companies export their products overseas.”
It’s clear Kenney is enamored with her career choice, though it is a far leap from what she had originally planned for her future. At Marquette, before transferring to Salve Regina, she studied speech pathology and audiology. Kenney transferred to Salve to study the same field.
She’s not remorseful about failing to become a speech pathologist.
“I love what I do,” she added. “There’s nothing in the world that I would rather do. It changes every minute. I get to travel all over the world. I’ve had tremendous opportunities, met great people.” •
