2026 Spring Forwarder Magazine

15 THE FORWARDER | SPRING 2026 Business Development Edmonton Business Development Edmonton CIFFA Business Development Highlights – 2025 Nasy Panahi, CIFFA’s Director of Business Development, offers us a summary of the key events and partnerships of 2025: In 2025, CIFFA’s Business Development efforts focused on strengthening regional engagement and fostering meaningful dialogue across Canada’s logistics community. Through targeted events and roundtables, CIFFA continued to connect members, encourage collaboration, and highlight the value of CIFFA membership to prospective members. Edmonton: Connecting the Cargo Community In May 2025, CIFFA partnered with Edmonton International Airport (YEG) Cargo to host the CIFFA & YEG Cargo Community Event at Century Mile Racetrack and Casino. More than 50 industry professionals gathered for an evening of networking and discussion, exploring current trends in air cargo and logistics while strengthening connections within the Edmonton cargo community. During the event, Nasy Panahi, Director of Business Development, provided an overview of CIFFA, highlighting membership benefits and the association’s role in supporting freight forwarders and logistics professionals across Canada. Toronto: Member Engagement and Industry Dialogue In July 2025, CIFFA hosted a “One Network, One Nation” collaborative meeting at its Toronto office, welcoming about 10 new Ontario-based members for open discussions on key industry challenges and how CIFFA can best support its membership. Nasy Panahi also shared an overview of CIFFA membership benefits, encouraging engagement and participation among prospective members. This outreach continued in October 2025 with a networking event at the CIFFA office, bringing together around 20 drayage companies, 3PLs, NVOCCs, and freight forwarders. Jason Hilsenbeck, President of LoadMatch and Drayage.com, delivered practical insights on drayage best practices and intermodal trends. The discussion that followed highlighted real-world operational challenges in the Toronto market. CIFFA membership offerings and benefits were again presented as part of the event’s engagement efforts by Nasy. Halifax: Air Cargo Industry Roundtable CIFFA participated in an Air Cargo Industry Roundtable in Halifax, convening leaders from Nova Scotia’s seafood export sector, logistics community, airlines, and government. Nasy Panahi shared a freight forwarding outlook on global market conditions, capacity, and rate dynamics, while also providing an overview of CIFFA membership and how the association supports industry growth and collaboration. The highly engaged discussion covered connectivity, infrastructure, market access, and competitiveness, with insights helping to inform CIFFA’s ongoing priorities as it works to strengthen Halifax’s role as Atlantic Canada’s air cargo gateway. Looking Ahead CIFFA’s 2025 business development initiatives underscored the importance of regional presence, open dialogue, and member engagement. By combining industry conversations with clear communication of CIFFA’s value and benefits, the association continues to support existing members while encouraging new participants to join Canada’s national voice for freight forwarders. Business Development drayage Business Development drayage