Rob Smeets is COO at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges. He joined the executive committee in August 2017. Rob Smeets previously served as manager of the towage company within the Port of Antwerp Authority. Rob Smeets is responsible for all operational services. His Operations department consists of three subdivisions: Nautical (Nautical Operations), Assets (Asset management, including bridges, locks, quay walls) and Port Projects (major renovation or new construction projects port infrastructure). A smooth, safe, expeditious, customer-friendly and cost-efficient course of the nautical activities and traffic flows in the port are central.

Didier Brackenier is a Vice-President at EFESO and member of the Northern Europe Management team. He has solid experience working in a variety of fields and industries, with a specific focus on progression management.

His areas of expertise include translating strategy into action, supporting successful transitions, managing large scale transformations with substantial impact, setting up and monitoring progression dynamics, engineering and implementing strategic programs ranging from pure restructuring to step by step behavioural change.

He has broad industry experience, including Chemicals & Transport & Logistics.

Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the second largest port in Europe, with more than 300 liner services to more than 800 destinations, thereby ensuring worldwide connectivity. Every year, we handle around 290 million tonnes of international maritime cargo and we are home to Europe's largest integrated chemical cluster. The port employs, directly and indirectly, a total of around 164,000 people and generates added value of more than €21 billion. As such, it is an important lifeline for the Belgian economy. International connections and sustainable growth play an important role in reinforcing our role as a world port.

Founded in 1980, EFESO Consulting is a global management consultancy firm specialised in ensuring the perfect execution of the strategy across the client ecosystem. EFESO Consulting is also an innovator delivering a new consulting experience which combines hands-on actions with vision and human touch. Over 400 consultants, operating from 27 offices, working in over 75 countries and representing more than 40 different nationalities currently support clients on more than 900 «Progression» programmes using our unique “tandem approach”. Our «Progression» motto “Improving your results today, securing your results for tomorrow” means achieving business results faster and building the capabilities to continue to improve faster than competition. The «Progression» delivers results and capabilities working at 3 levels, first at strategic level to anticipate and deploy, second at systemic level to connect the organisation and build the winning routines in terms of capabilities, leadership, engagement and behaviours and, last, at specific level to involve everybody in executing the actions orchestrated in the plan. The success of the EFESO approach is reflected by our 90% client retention.