Summary: 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, 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. 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
