Hormuz crisis caught even prepared organisations off guard, says DSV CFO

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Some organisations, such as DSV, had already planned for possible scenarios arising from geopolitical tensions but were not prepared for the timing of the disruptions, its CFO, Isabelle Massad, said

After the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, where previously 34 per cent of the world’s crude oil passed through, organisation have had to grapple with the fallout from supply chain constraints.

Some organisations, like DSV – Global Transport and Logistics, already planned for possible scenarios resulting from geopolitical tensions, but what they were not prepared for was the timing, its CFO, Isabelle Massad, said.

“We did not have all the answers,” she said of possible questions the company posed regarding trade routes not being viable anymore. “That's where the risk management came into our discussions. But we, as much as possible, tried to make sure our company was ready financially, operationally and from an adaptability perspective.”

Massad was speaking during a session titled ‘Power Talk: When the Region Shook: How Treasurers Actually Handled the 2026 Hormuz Disruption’ during Khaleej Times’ eighth New Age & Finance Summit in Dubai on Wednesday.

She added, “We've been living in disruptions in the logistics industry for the past five years. So, it became a part of our business planning.”

Also speaking at the session, Jagdish Parulekar, CFO of Al Habtoor Motors, said that while he knew the war would disrupt shipping lanes, he did not foresee the magnitude of it.

“Frankly speaking, it took such probably some time to grasp the whole situation and then start steering what we should do,” he said, adding that his organisation learned from the experience to overcome the situation and set better contingency plans.

“The direction from the management, the CEO was very clear that explore every opportunity, every options, try to secure the situation as much as you can,” Parulekar said.

The company was eventually able to move on from the disruption very quickly despite not having a plan ready.

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