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In this podcast episode of Next Level Up, host John interviews Chris Condan, founder of Aircon, a startup building what he calls a "decision layer" for air cargo freight forwarding. Chris shares his journey from forklift driver at Tower Group International to executive roles at FedEx Trade Networks and Expeditors, where formative experiences—like losing 90% of revenue from a single account in El Paso—taught him the importance of understanding customer value, P&Ls, and the underlying motivations behind client requests. He also reflects on lessons from running his own freight forwarding company and from earlier partnerships, emphasizing that leadership requires fast decision-making, true alignment among co-founders, and ensuring teams genuinely understand and can replay shared goals rather than just nodding along.
The conversation then turns to Aircon's mission: helping small and mid-sized freight forwarders compete by giving them real-time intelligence at the moment of quoting—margins, route feasibility, carrier reliability, and traceable decision-making—so they can demonstrate value beyond just price. Chris argues the industry has been overly fixated on cost as the only measurable variable, when service, risk, and on-time performance create the real differentiation, and he believes AI should augment rather than replace people, freeing operators to build genuine customer relationships and focus on higher-value work. Looking ahead, he predicts the freight forwarding industry will become more boutique and service-driven, with better alignment between airlines, truckers, forwarders, and buyers around real commitments rather than speculative pricing.
