Erwin Verstraelen – Chief Digital and Innovation Officer at Port of Antwerp

In this episode of Leadership Deep Dive, Hendrik Deckers talks to Erwin Verstraelen – Chief Digital and Innovation Officer at Port of Antwerp.

Erwin is a finalist of the European CIO Of The Year Awards (https://ecoty.eu), nominated for his ambitious large-scale project to turn the Port of Antwerp into a digital open innovation platform – a Partnership ecosystem where new ideas are tested, incubated and applied for business objectives of the Port.

Erwin has broad experience in innovation consulting and it translates into many thought-provoking, sometimes brutally honest views on change management, growth and business. He shares his advice for future CIOs who are impatient to get to the top, solid approach to building a company culture, and a lot of insight into personal growth.

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Table of contents:

0:44 Erwin Verstraelen – Chief Digital and Innovation Officer at Port of Antwerp
1:54 The Port of Antwerp is an Open Innovation Platform.
4:15 Innovation: Why and how; the innovation strategy of the Port of Antwerp
8:35 Creating a culture of innovation
10:15 How do you change a company culture?
14:44 How to change a traditional IT team structure and purpose
19:35 How do you attract people to come and work for the Port of Antwerp?
25:36 Collaborating with the biggest ports in the world and hosting hackatons
28:52 How do you create leaders in your organisation?
32:17 Erwin’s most important talent
34:15 His MBTI personality profile: the architect (INTJ)
37:00 How do you approach self-development?
41:40 Mentors in Erwin’s life
44:58 “I have a nautical heart”
45:50 Advice to future digital leaders
50:14 Is IT a fullfilling carreer path?
53:19 What technology should we invest in today?
55:00 How do you visualise the Port in 10 years?
57:53 Problems, challenges and opportunities

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