When Eli Glickman talked about transforming Israeli liner operator Zim, people did not believe him.

“When I said Zim is going to be a multibillion-dollar company, people laughed behind my back,” he told TradeWinds.

He elicited a similar response when promising that Zim’s profit margins would top the sector.

And again last summer, when he told his board of plans to launch an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.