As innovation ‘enablement’ manager for the Port Authority, Piet is one of the drivers of the digital transition in the Port of Antwerp. Based on a founded strategy and by executing concrete innovation projects, he makes the ‘Port of the Future’ tangible and leads the development of innovation platforms (e.g. smart shipping, drones) to a smart Port - on which startups, companies, knowledge institutions and other authorities create new value for the Antwerp port ecosystem.

In the 90’s, Piet started at one of the most successful startups in the Benelux – Tele Atlas, a producer of digital geographic data – acquired by TomTom in 2008. Between 2011 and 2014 he managed a consultancy firm and was closely involved in the start-ups in the energy sector. Piet holds 2 masters, in History and Spatial and Urban Planning, post-graduates in energy and environmental management and an MBA International management.

Always open to innovation, to new challenges. Currently motivated to embrace changes in logistics and imagining the Port of the future in order to make it happen.

Since 2010 I’m working at the Port of Barcelona Authority as Business Development Director. At the Business Development department, we have also the Customer Service department and we are building up a community with importers and exporters to know their needs. This will help us deliver the best service.

I Started my career in Shipping in 1999, working at Transglory, a Freight Forwarder with Headquarters in Barcelona (Spain), being in charge of developing the agents's network in Asia. Also, I have been working at Portic Barcelona S.A. (Port Community System- the electronic platform of the Port of Barcelona- as Sales & Marketing Manager.

My academic background is in Economics & Executive Education, specialized in Foreign Trade & Logistics.

As a graduated computer scientist with more than 25 years of experience in the field of port, logistics, IT and finance, Jens Meier is an internationally recognized leader and a much sought-after speaker with broad media presence in the area of digitalization and the future of maritime industries. He has been serving as CEO of Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) for more than 10 years. His previous professional positions include board positions at Fiege Holding, tts Group, Systematics AG (later EDS) and Software Design & Management AG (Ernst & Young Group). In May 2019 Jens Meier was elected as Vice President of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH).

Mr. Meier’s social commitments include positions as founding board member of the Hamburg Informatics Forum e.V., several mandates on supervisory boards and boards of trustees as well as his position as president of Hamburger Sport Verein e.V. from 2013 to 2018.

As Director of Marketing for the Port of Los Angeles, Eric Caris is responsible for marketing, sales and promotional programs designed to attract and retain shipping business to the Port.

Caris played an active role in the research and development of the Port’s Alternative Maritime Power™ (AMP™) program, a groundbreaking technology to reduce ship emissions while at berth, launched at the Port of Los Angeles in June 2004. Caris joined the Port in 2002 after 15 years with Canada Maritime Agencies, Ltd. (part of CP Ships) where, as Regional Director California, he was responsible for the organization and management of the California Sales & Service offices. His experience in the shipping industry dates back to 1982 when he was a commercial delegate for Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) in Antwerp, Belgium.

Caris currently serves as president of the Los Angeles/Long Beach Propeller Club and is a member of the California Association of Port Authorities’ Tariff & Practices Committee. He is a former board member of the Steamship Association of Southern California and the Los Angeles Transportation Club. Caris is a graduate of Stedelijk Instituut voor Economisch Hoger Onderwijs in Antwerp, Belgium. .

In September 2012, Mr. Olivier joined the Port of Montreal Authority and is now Director of Business Intelligence and Innovation. His mandate covers such things as strategic planning, research, performance monitoring, business analytics, market intelligence, traffic forecasting and the development of decision support tools, as well as leading several innovation projects, including an innovation accelerator in port logistics.

Prior to this, Mr. Olivier worked for Transport Canada under its National Gateways and Corridors program. There, he led the development of a national supply chain performance monitoring program, including the development and implementation of key performance indicators across Canada’s major seaports.

Daniel Olivier obtained a Ph.d. in economic geography (maritime transport) from the University of Hong Kong in 2006. He has published on the topics of container ports, logistics, and Asian transnational firms in a number of academic journals. He authored the book Dynamics of Globalisation in the Container Port Industry: Asia Rising in 2010. He later obtained a certificate in supply chain management from Georgia Tech in 2011 and has been an active member of CILTNA since 2013. Mr. Olivier lived in China (Hong Kong), France and Australia.

Thea likes to take the lead when it comes to innovation or pioneering, especially when it concerns digital. She started her career as a marketeer at IBM, set up e-commerce for Siemens Industry and developed new online business models in the publishing world. The last decade she enjoys working for the Port of Rotterdam. With passion for the port and city she created a Rotterdam brand alliance with the city, university and partner organizations to attract new customers, start-ups and talents to the city and port. As a Director marketing & new business Thea is responsible for the development and adoption of digital solutions for Rotterdam and other ports so they can grow towards a digital, connected port.