With over 25 years of experience in commercial leadership positions in the food and agri industry, Erik has ventured into the volatile steel business to actively contribute to the sustainability-driven transition it is now facing. With an outside-in, market-focused mentality he has successfully managed to shape strategy, innovation and business culture.
Erik embraces business ecosystem thinking, where collaboration within value chains to achieve mutual sustainability goals is key — while also capturing value. At Tata Steel Nederland, he applies this mindset to one of the most complex industrial transitions in the Netherlands: decarbonising steel production at scale, in a sector where energy, infrastructure and public policy all have to move in the same direction at the same time.
The energy transition is moving fast — but who is actually steering it? Governments set targets. Businesses make investments. Industries like steel face the hardest version of this question: how do you decarbonise a production process that runs 24/7, depends on infrastructure that doesn't exist yet, and competes globally?
Erik brings the industrial perspective to this panel — what it looks like from inside a major manufacturer trying to move faster than the system around it allows, and what collaboration across the value chain actually requires in practice.
Your ticket gives you full-day access to all sessions, workshops and networking.
Rutger Oorsprong