Student Spotlight: Lorenzo Chiari-Gaggia (SFS ’27)

Q: What was your summer internship, and what type of work did you do?
A: This summer I worked at d’Amico Shipping, an Italian shipowning company, in their Singapore office on the dry bulk side. Over 80% of global trade by volume moves by sea, and the majority is not transported in containers but in bulk; either liquid bulk, such as oil and chemicals, or dry bulk, meaning unpackaged solid raw materials such as iron ore, grain, and coal. As a shipowner, the goal is to charter out your fleet at the best possible rate by negotiating with the companies that own the cargo. As an intern, my work focused on research, using data to help decide where to position ships and anticipate trends in the market. This meant tracking things like port congestion, commodity prices, geopolitical tensions, and how many competing ships were available in a given region. It was a fascinating intersection of business, geopolitics, and data analysis. 

Q: What was your favorite part about the internship/were there any particular stand-out projects that you can share?
A: One particularly interesting project involved modelling freight rates. I worked with a set of historical and forward-looking market data to explore which factors move rates, things like the number of ships available in a region, commodity prices, and shifts in trade patterns. The goal was to better understand what drives the market. Working on the project illustrated how directly shipping is tied to the wider global economy: a trade policy change in one country or a commodity price move in another can quickly affect freight rates on the other side of the world.

Q: How has your experience in IBD thus far prepared you for success in this position?
A: Shipping is one of the most international industries. On one voyage, one can expect to work with shipbrokers, port agents, and the ship’s crew from across the globe. IBD’s emphasis on understanding the nuances and complexities of doing business across borders was crucial preparation for this work. The finance coursework was just as valuable and extremely transferable. Shipping runs on the same fundamentals I’d learned in class: how to value a deal, how the purchase of an asset as large as a ship is financed, and how futures are used to hedge exposure to fuel prices and freight rates. Going into the summer with that foundation in business made the learning curve much faster.

Q: What’s one fun summer activity you did outside of your internship?
A: In my first week, a couple of local friends took me to a Hawker Centre, one of Singapore’s open-air street food markets, which are full of tiny independent stalls serving classic Singaporean and foreign dishes. With delicious food and affordable prices, these centres feed the busy business sector. During the lunchtime rush, the centres can get packed. I quickly learnt the Singapore practice of how to “chope” (save a table) by simply leaving a small personal item, usually a packet of tissues or a water bottle, on the table while you go and order. The choping rule is respected religiously! My favourite dish was Laksa, a spicy coconut curry noodle soup. Singaporean food culture is extraordinary due to the city’s diversity, with a special combination of Malay, Chinese and Indian culinary influences.