Niels Vanlaer
Port of Antwerp
Business Continuity Manager Operation
Niels Vanlaer is Business Continuity Manager Operations of the Port of Antwerp. He took that position in December 2019 where he leads a small team of experts that support the Port Authority Field Operations team in developing risk analysis and ensuring the overall safety of the port and its users. He is a strong believer in building bridges and mutual understanding to come to pragmatic solutions that ensure a safe environment to conduct operations.
Earlier on, Niels worked as HSEQ & Marine Director of a shipping company specialized in gas tankers and had a seagoing career up to Master Mariner. In this job, he dealt with various aspects of ship management in often challenging environments.
He is combining his current job with a Ph.D. program in which he takes up research on the resilience of critical infrastructures.