Top Female Executives, Professionals & Entrepreneurs

Title: Chief Executive Officer

Company: ICOS LIVE LTD

Location: Albany, Auckland, New Zealand

After years of working in the freight and logistics industry, Kathy Ross decided to use her expertise to create ICOS GROUP, an integrated cargo operating system, with a partner in 1989. Unfortunately, her partner passed away in 2003, and, although it was a devastating blow, Ms. Ross felt she had a responsibility to her team and customers to carry on. Through her work, she learned that many businesses weren’t in a position to implement a freight management software package, and those that did found the software to be more of a hindrance than a help. Ms. Ross noticed that these companies had a bunch of things in common, including the fact that they were buried in paper, under resourced, had a lack of transparency, and had a poor cash and time flow. She knew there had to be a better way, and it came to her in 2008: she had to redevelop her integrated cargo operating system into an internet cargo operating system so it could be live. This is exactly what Ms. Ross did, and thus, ICOS LIVE LTD was born. The software company offers real-time track and trace, from online job bookings through scheduling and dispatch to proof of delivery, with sign on glass using smart technology, and has transformed the domestic transport sector by taking it from a paper-based world to a paperless world. This, most importantly, gives operators back time. One of her customers, Lynette Gray, was able to step out of the day-to-day grind to write a book, Women in Work Boots, which Ms. Ross is featured in.

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