YouTube2Text

"Our biggest expense is capex - and it has increased significantly." - Nadine Aerts, CFO PoAB — Transcript

by CFO Studios · 4,546 words · 719 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Full transcript

  1. 0:12Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a new
  2. 0:14season of the CFO podcast. For the
  3. 0:16first time, we are recording our
  4. 0:18conversations from our brand-new
  5. 0:20studios in Antwerp. Realized together
  6. 0:22with our partners. And in terms of
  7. 0:24symbolism, this really hits the mark.
  8. 0:26We are opening this new season with the
  9. 0:28CFO of Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Nadine
  10. 0:31Aarts. Port of Antwerp-Bruges is not
  11. 0:33just any company. It is one of
  12. 0:35Belgium's biggest economic engines. And
  13. 0:37that is precisely why the role of the
  14. 0:39CFO here is particularly interesting.
  15. 0:41Because behind the port lies a business
  16. 0:44model that must keep working in a
  17. 0:45rapidly changing world. With
  18. 0:48macroeconomic pressure, with
  19. 0:50geopolitical uncertainty, with
  20. 0:52investment needs, with public
  21. 0:53shareholders, and of course with the
  22. 0:55question of how you safeguard financial
  23. 0:57muscle in the long term. Nadine made
  24. 1:01the switch from SD Worx to Port of
  25. 1:03Antwerp-Bruges and has been the CFO of
  26. 1:06the Port of Antwerp since August 2025.
  27. 1:09The central question of this
  28. 1:10conversation: how does the CFO of Port
  29. 1:13of Antwerp-Bruges safeguard the
  30. 1:14financial strength of Belgium's biggest
  31. 1:17economic engine? Nadine, welcome to the
  32. 1:24CFO podcast. It gives me great pleasure
  33. 1:26to be able to have this conversation
  34. 1:28with you in Antwerp. But I always start
  35. 1:30with the same question. Who is Nadine?
  36. 1:32What is your story? Thank you for
  37. 1:35letting me be here and for letting me
  38. 1:37be the first to appear in this studio.
  39. 1:40Mine too. My story is one that is about
  40. 1:43doing what you love to do.
  41. 1:46Mhm. Surrounding yourself with the
  42. 1:49right people and, actually, mostly
  43. 1:51about seeing opportunities and taking
  44. 1:53them.
  45. 1:57I started my career or my studies as a
  46. 2:00commercial engineer in policy
  47. 2:01informatics a long time ago. And my
  48. 2:09first job was actually at a smaller
  49. 2:11consultancy firm as an IT consultant,
  50. 2:13CRM consultant, I worked for a while as
  51. 2:15a consultant at Toyota as a business
  52. 2:17analyst, and that is how I ended up at
  53. 2:19SD Worx as a business analyst in the
  54. 2:21Finance department.
  55. 2:25Okay. Yes.
  56. 2:26That was a long time ago, in 2002. Back
  57. 2:29then, SD Worx was not as well-known a
  58. 2:31company as it is today. It was mainly a
  59. 2:33non-profit organization. Mhm.
  60. 2:36But then, through various steps within
  61. 2:38finance, I also went outside of finance
  62. 2:40to the business side for a while. Under
  63. 2:44the mentorship of the then-CFO, Hector
  64. 2:47Vermeersch. And
  65. 2:50I saw the podcast with Niels de
  66. 2:52Bremaecker, CFO of SD Worx Investment,
  67. 2:54who also mentioned Hector as a mentor.
  68. 2:56For me, he has certainly been a mentor
  69. 2:59as well. And that is why I brought that
  70. 3:00up at the beginning. It is very
  71. 3:02important to surround yourself with the
  72. 3:04right people. Together with him, we
  73. 3:07didn't exactly map out a path. That
  74. 3:10path emerged along the way. Held
  75. 3:14various roles within SD Worx before
  76. 3:16becoming CFO in 2019 of...
  77. 3:21Is it important for a finance
  78. 3:22professional to have a mentor early in
  79. 3:24their career? For me, I found it
  80. 3:29important because, well, early in your
  81. 3:31career, you don't always know which
  82. 3:33direction you're headed. For example,
  83. 3:36it wasn't clear for me. I actually
  84. 3:39didn't know that I would really pursue
  85. 3:41a career within finance. And Hector
  86. 3:47gave me the space to try different
  87. 3:48opportunities, right? As I said, I also
  88. 3:53spent some time in the business. I was
  89. 3:56the first business manager of Flex
  90. 3:58Income Plan. A product invented by SD
  91. 4:01Worx in Belgium.
  92. 4:03So I got to learn completely different
  93. 4:05things there, but I also noticed I
  94. 4:07missed the numbers. And then, thanks to
  95. 4:10Hector, we started looking back at what
  96. 4:12role I could play within finance again.
  97. 4:14Because, of course, the world keeps
  98. 4:17turning. And I was able to do
  99. 4:18completely different things. I was able
  100. 4:21to collaborate on cross-company
  101. 4:23projects together with McKinsey and
  102. 4:25Accenture. And that shaped me and built
  103. 4:30my background to become a CFO, which,
  104. 4:33by the way, I never thought was for me.
  105. 4:36Because I didn't follow a classic path.
  106. 4:38I was never in audit.
  107. 4:40I never did controlling. I actually
  108. 4:42always did other roles. But then I
  109. 4:46became CFO at the end of 2019, in a
  110. 4:48difficult period, appointed in December
  111. 4:51'19. In January 2020, we, as an entire
  112. 4:56organization—we were in 12 countries
  113. 4:59at the time—switched to a new ERP
  114. 5:01package. We were a pilot.
  115. 5:03It was S/4HANA, and we were truly a
  116. 5:05pilot back then.
  117. 5:06Yeah. You were very early then.
  118. 5:08Very early. And that didn't happen
  119. 5:10without a struggle. So that wasn't easy
  120. 5:13. And then months later, Corona broke
  121. 5:15out. So I, to say it in Antwerp style,
  122. 5:18really had a hard time. Very difficult.
  123. 5:23Those were weeks where you were putting
  124. 5:25in over 100 hours. Which was possible
  125. 5:28because the social calendar was
  126. 5:30completely empty during Corona.
  127. 5:33And I did that after a difficult 2020
  128. 5:35with a lot of passion and drive. I also
  129. 5:38experienced the whole transition from
  130. 5:40an NPO-like company to one much more
  131. 5:43commercial, right up to the entry of
  132. 5:45CVC.
  133. 5:46In 2023. The company has completely
  134. 5:50changed over all these years. But I did
  135. 5:54notice, although I really liked working
  136. 5:56with CVC, there was a dynamic that
  137. 5:58maybe suited me a little less. And um,
  138. 6:04yeah, when it was decided that I was
  139. 6:06going to leave SD Worx, it was my
  140. 6:08intention to take up my career again.
  141. 6:11Because to be honest, there's quite a
  142. 6:13bit of involved with it too. Yeah.
  143. 6:15Yeah.
  144. 6:16It's not all rainbows and sunshine. Um,
  145. 6:20I actually wanted to become a
  146. 6:21management consultant and start a
  147. 6:23business from scratch, but then the
  148. 6:25opportunity to become CFO of Port of
  149. 6:27Antwerp-Bruges happened to come along.
  150. 6:32Um, and then I thought, yeah, what are
  151. 6:34the odds of being able to take such a
  152. 6:36position again at a company that is so
  153. 6:38important? Um, what kind of one? Um,
  154. 6:43headquarters in Belgium, that is. Yeah,
  155. 6:46and also indeed in my Antwerp. Although
  156. 6:49, not unimportant to mention, I also
  157. 6:51have a pied-à-terre on the coast next
  158. 6:53to Zeebrugge in Blankenberge. So I
  159. 6:55definitely have a connection there as
  160. 6:57well.
  161. 6:58And um, I took that step with a heavy
  162. 7:00heart, because I had no background in
  163. 7:02the port.
  164. 7:04So as you said, started at the end of
  165. 7:06August with a lot of enthusiasm, and
  166. 7:08without one day of regret, I've been
  167. 7:10there for a year now.
  168. 7:11Yeah. Now, what a switch, huh? You make
  169. 7:14a switch from a private company. Yes.
  170. 7:17to at the very least a semi-state
  171. 7:19company, if I may call it that. How was
  172. 7:22that, actually? And I'm especially
  173. 7:24curious to know what you had to unlearn
  174. 7:26to be able to flourish in such an
  175. 7:28organization?
  176. 7:29Yes, so um, Port of Antwerp-Bruges is a
  177. 7:32public limited company. So we aren't
  178. 7:34exactly government. We are somewhere in
  179. 7:36between.
  180. 7:37Hence my choice of words.
  181. 7:38Yes. Yes, that's right, isn't it? So it
  182. 7:41is a very specific status. Hm.
  183. 7:44Um, what I had to unlearn is doing
  184. 7:45things perhaps a bit less quickly. I
  185. 7:49certainly did in my last years at SD
  186. 7:51Worx. Everything went very fast. Um,
  187. 7:54yeah, you're tied to public procurement
  188. 7:57laws, I had to learn. That is also a
  189. 7:59bit of a hobbyhorse of mine. I
  190. 8:01understand why it exists, but it's not
  191. 8:03always easy to work in such a structure
  192. 8:05.
  193. 8:07So for me, it was a lot about pacing.
  194. 8:10Um, pacing.
  195. 8:11Pacing, yes. You also have to bring
  196. 8:14people along. You come from a different
  197. 8:16culture. It helps that I experienced
  198. 8:18that same shift of culture or change of
  199. 8:21culture at SD Worx.
  200. 8:23Hm hm. And what was also something to
  201. 8:25get used to for me was, well, I worked
  202. 8:28at SD Worx for more than 23 years. So I
  203. 8:31started there as a kid. Everyone knew
  204. 8:34me, I knew everyone. So you have a
  205. 8:36certain connection with the people, and
  206. 8:38then suddenly you join a company as CFO
  207. 8:40. They address you as ma'am and use
  208. 8:42formal language. Um, you don't know
  209. 8:45everyone. Uh, you have a different
  210. 8:46relationship with the people. So that
  211. 8:48takes some getting used to for me, that
  212. 8:50you
  213. 8:51yes, take on a different position there
  214. 8:53and no longer know the "catacombs," so
  215. 8:55to speak, of other companies.
  216. 8:57Now, Port of Antwerp-Bruges is
  217. 8:59mentioned as the most important
  218. 9:01economic engine in Belgium. That’s
  219. 9:04quite a heavy weight to carry. How does
  220. 9:06it actually feel to be the CFO of such
  221. 9:08a company? Well, the company itself is
  222. 9:11just a small gear in the whole thing,
  223. 9:13right? It’s mainly our customers, who
  224. 9:18work in the port directly or indirectly
  225. 9:20, who make the ports—because it’s
  226. 9:23not just Antwerp, but also Zeebrugge—
  227. 9:25account for about 6%of the Belgian GDP.
  228. 9:29That is actually immense, isn't it? It
  229. 9:31is immense. It has also grown compared
  230. 9:33to a few years ago. That certainly
  231. 9:35shows the importance of the port. Um,
  232. 9:37Port of Antwerp-Bruges itself as a
  233. 9:39company obviously plays an important
  234. 9:41role in that. Um, we ensure that the
  235. 9:45traffic can flow. A bit like an airport
  236. 9:48where you have air traffic control. Yes
  237. 9:51, we also ensure that ships can get in
  238. 9:53and out safely. Um, but also, um, yes,
  239. 9:58we help determine what the investments
  240. 10:00are in that port, and that involves
  241. 10:02immense sums. And that is a
  242. 10:06responsibility that should not be
  243. 10:08underestimated. Especially in a period
  244. 10:14that has been quite marked by the past
  245. 10:16year, where I have seen the evolution
  246. 10:18where financial resources are not
  247. 10:20unlimited, where you are dealing with
  248. 10:22constraints. And I think that is also
  249. 10:27new for us as a port authority, but
  250. 10:29also for the port as a whole.
  251. 10:32Okay, very clear. I am very curious
  252. 10:35about your business model, because a
  253. 10:37port, I have no idea what the business
  254. 10:39model is. Tell me, what is the business
  255. 10:42model, actually?
  256. 10:44Yes, very good question, because I
  257. 10:46think few people actually know what
  258. 10:49Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the beautiful
  259. 10:51Havenhuis you see, actually does. Mo
  260. 10:54um, our business model consists of a
  261. 10:56number of pillars. Revenue, which is
  262. 11:00over a billion, slightly more than a
  263. 11:02billion,
  264. 11:03consists of 40%concession income. So
  265. 11:07most of the land in the port area of
  266. 11:09Antwerp and Zeebrugge is owned by the
  267. 11:11port authority. So we collect rental
  268. 11:14income for that. So that is about 40%.
  269. 11:17And how long do those concessions last?
  270. 11:19That is 30, 40 years. So that is very
  271. 11:22for your cash flow planning then.
  272. 11:24Absolutely. So that is a secure income,
  273. 11:26but it also has a downside, right? So
  274. 11:28that income, is that then
  275. 11:29it only rises with inflation.
  276. 11:31Okay.
  277. 11:31Um, so it is constant. That has its
  278. 11:34advantages when times are tough. But at
  279. 11:37the moment, and we are seeing that now,
  280. 11:39on the cost side inflation hits much
  281. 11:41harder, right? As everyone knows in
  282. 11:44Belgium, labor costs rise more than
  283. 11:46inflation. And that is still always
  284. 11:48two-thirds of our costs. But our
  285. 11:50investments and construction costs are
  286. 11:52rising too. Oh, anyone who has built or
  287. 11:54renovated in the past few years will
  288. 11:56know those costs have risen
  289. 11:57significantly.
  290. 11:58Then there is that part. Yes, that
  291. 12:00remains constant. You also have little
  292. 12:02influence over it. The space in the
  293. 12:04port is just what it is. 40%. Um,
  294. 12:07another 40%is what we call port dues.
  295. 12:12So every ship that enters, depending on
  296. 12:14the type of ship and the type of cargo,
  297. 12:16pays the port authority.
  298. 12:19And is that per movement or just
  299. 12:20arrival and departure, or how should I
  300. 12:22see it?
  301. 12:23Yes, arrival and departure, but there
  302. 12:25is more detail to it, but generally
  303. 12:27speaking. Okay. Um, the remaining 20%is
  304. 12:31largely what we call towing operations.
  305. 12:35So every ship that comes in must be
  306. 12:37towed. Um, and then a small remainder
  307. 12:40that comes from our subsidiaries. So we
  308. 12:43have a number of international
  309. 12:45activities. We also have a company that
  310. 12:48manages and operates pipelines. We also
  311. 12:51have a company that makes software used
  312. 12:53by customers in the port.
  313. 12:55Yes. That is on the revenue side, on
  314. 12:57the cost side, right? Our model, as I
  315. 12:59just said, two-thirds of our costs
  316. 13:01consist of personnel.
  317. 13:02Yes,
  318. 13:04other OPEX costs are studies we do in
  319. 13:06preparation for many projects, and yes,
  320. 13:09some marketing we do. I think we are
  321. 13:13quite well known, but that also comes
  322. 13:15with a cost.
  323. 13:16IT is also not to be underestimated.
  324. 13:19Cybersecurity also comes with a cost.
  325. 13:24But the biggest expenditure we have is
  326. 13:26our CAPEX, our investments, and those
  327. 13:28have risen very sharply. Um, just to
  328. 13:33give you the scale, in the past 12
  329. 13:35years we have spent roughly 1.5 billion
  330. 13:37on investments. 3 billion in revenue is
  331. 13:41a lot.
  332. 13:41That is a lot. We have been able to
  333. 13:43fund that with our own cash flow. In
  334. 13:47the coming 12 years, we expect to spend
  335. 13:50more than 5 billion. So a tripling.
  336. 13:53Yes, that is a lot.
  337. 13:55Yes, that is quite a lot. Um, so if we
  338. 13:57talk now about, yes, annual Capex of,
  339. 14:00uh, around 300 million, but that will
  340. 14:03increase over the coming years, 400
  341. 14:06million, 500 million, to then decrease
  342. 14:08again. But that is actually our largest
  343. 14:11cash expenditure. Clear. Now, it is a
  344. 14:15government-owned company, but it is a
  345. 14:17public limited company with, of course,
  346. 14:19shareholders. Who are the shareholders
  347. 14:21of the Port of Antwerp to begin with?
  348. 14:23Yes, so the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.
  349. 14:26Nicely eaten. Uh, 80%is the City of
  350. 14:29Antwerp, 20%is the City of Bruges. Okay
  351. 14:33.
  352. 14:33If you look at our board of directors,
  353. 14:35it consists of representatives from
  354. 14:37both cities, but is also supplemented
  355. 14:39by four independent directors.
  356. 14:41Okay. Now, in terms of dynamics, I
  357. 14:43think it is very different. Reporting
  358. 14:46to a board of directors, um, for a
  359. 14:51private company. What is it actually
  360. 14:54like to be in that dynamic where, of
  361. 14:56course, a lot of public interests are
  362. 14:58attached to it? How is it for you to
  363. 15:01actually maneuver between that as a CFO
  364. 15:04?
  365. 15:05That is indeed different. Yes, then
  366. 15:08back to where I once was, it is
  367. 15:10somewhat similar. Also did not have any
  368. 15:14real shareholders. So I’m not going
  369. 15:17to say government, but it was managed
  370. 15:18in a different way than a classic
  371. 15:20company. Um, that is therefore
  372. 15:22different, isn't it? I remember my
  373. 15:24introductory meeting with our chair of
  374. 15:26the audit and risk committee, Koen
  375. 15:28Kennis, from the City of Antwerp.
  376. 15:31He said afterwards, "You will have to
  377. 15:33get used to the fact that not every
  378. 15:35decision here is made rationally."
  379. 15:37Which as a CFO is still
  380. 15:39a bit uncomfortable, yes, feels
  381. 15:41uncomfortable. But, um, actually just
  382. 15:43yesterday I was having lunch with a
  383. 15:45colleague who phrased it a little
  384. 15:47differently, because we were talking
  385. 15:48about it, and he said that "rational"
  386. 15:50is not the right term. It is about
  387. 15:52logic. It is a different logic that is
  388. 15:54followed, right? We are speaking
  389. 15:56And why is that? Because other
  390. 15:58interests are at play?
  391. 15:59Yes, you have on one hand speaking in
  392. 16:01terms of legislative terms. So you have
  393. 16:03today a City of Antwerp, a City of
  394. 16:05Bruges where a number of parties are
  395. 16:07represented. So that representation is
  396. 16:09also reflected in our board of
  397. 16:11directors. Those are also certain
  398. 16:13emphases that are placed. But that can
  399. 16:15change, you know. That can, if there is
  400. 16:18a different legislative term where
  401. 16:19others come to power, there will also
  402. 16:21be other representatives on our board
  403. 16:23of directors, and possible emphases,
  404. 16:25other decisions will be made. Now, what
  405. 16:29you also notice is that, yes, some
  406. 16:31party interests are also at play. That
  407. 16:35the relationship with Flanders plays a
  408. 16:37role, sure, but I don't notice that
  409. 16:39it's truly a hindrance to how we
  410. 16:41operate as a company, you know. I think
  411. 16:46that both our board of directors and
  412. 16:48Flanders recognize the importance of
  413. 16:49the investments we make. Um, what I do
  414. 16:55notice is that, since I've been at the
  415. 16:57helm of finance, we perhaps have to
  416. 16:59make a bit more effort to highlight the
  417. 17:01financial aspect. But I think that's
  418. 17:07mainly because finance never really had
  419. 17:09a seat at the table, because there was
  420. 17:10always sufficient funding. We never had
  421. 17:14to take out any external financing. We
  422. 17:16were able to fund everything from our
  423. 17:17own cash flow. Um, and that was
  424. 17:21possible as long as our, well, as I
  425. 17:23just said, historically we were at
  426. 17:25around 100 million per year in Capex,
  427. 17:27and that was enough to maintain a
  428. 17:29constant cash balance, but that is now
  429. 17:32decreasing. So yes, you have different
  430. 17:34dynamics.
  431. 17:35Yes, but 300 million, that's a factor
  432. 17:37of 3. So that is obviously a very large
  433. 17:40bite out of your
  434. 17:41cash flow, right. Suddenly, choices
  435. 17:44have to be made there. And that is
  436. 17:46something where
  437. 17:47well, the Port, our shareholders, but
  438. 17:49also our customers aren't used to that,
  439. 17:52right. That we now have to say we can
  440. 17:54no longer do everything. We are going
  441. 17:56to have to make choices.
  442. 17:57Have to make choices.
  443. 17:58Nadien, thank you very much. We're
  444. 18:00going to take a short break in a moment
  445. 18:02, but when we return, I'm very curious
  446. 18:05about how the macroeconomic context
  447. 18:06actually influences your CFO agenda. We
  448. 18:09will continue shortly with my
  449. 18:11conversation with Nadien Aard, CFO of
  450. 18:13Port of Antwerp-Bruges. I am so proud
  451. 18:16to present CFO Studios, a logical step
  452. 18:20in our journey. We bring together
  453. 18:23podcasts, relevant articles, inspiring
  454. 18:25events, and learning opportunities for
  455. 18:28current and future CFOs. The heart of
  456. 18:31CFO Studios is a CFO network, a trusted
  457. 18:34community where finance leaders can
  458. 18:36meet, share ideas, ask questions, and
  459. 18:39learn from each other. CFO Studios
  460. 18:42helps you to grow, connect and lead
  461. 18:44today and in the future. Discover more
  462. 18:48at cfostudios.be.
  463. 18:53Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back.
  464. 18:55Today in the Z podcast, our guest is
  465. 18:57Nadien Aard, CFO of Port of
  466. 18:59Antwerp-Bruges. Nadien, before the
  467. 19:01break, we were talking about the
  468. 19:03shareholders and the whole dynamic. But
  469. 19:06I want to pivot with you toward the new
  470. 19:08economic context, obviously, in which
  471. 19:10the Port of Antwerp finds itself. How
  472. 19:13does this actually influence a CFO
  473. 19:15agenda?
  474. 19:16Yes, um, politically speaking, I mean,
  475. 19:19macro-politically speaking, for example
  476. 19:22, the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.
  477. 19:26Actually, at Porto Ventur Brouge, we
  478. 19:28haven't really had that much of an
  479. 19:30impact from that, or had much to do
  480. 19:32with it. I think it has also appeared
  481. 19:37in the media that a number of our
  482. 19:38clients have even seen increases. What
  483. 19:43we are more affected by, or what I
  484. 19:45would call having more of an impact,
  485. 19:47are a number of other aspects. If
  486. 19:50something really goes wrong in the port
  487. 19:52, that could be an oil spill that
  488. 19:54happened a while ago, for instance,
  489. 19:56which effectively closes the port.
  490. 19:59Strikes that can happen. Yes, those are
  491. 20:02things that have a direct impact on our
  492. 20:04business.
  493. 20:05Yes. Where we also notice that impact
  494. 20:09is Flanders having a harder time. We
  495. 20:12read about it every day. I read it in
  496. 20:15the paper this morning too; we have to
  497. 20:17find money. Flanders is also looking
  498. 20:19for money.
  499. 20:20Not just Flanders. The whole country is
  500. 20:21looking for money.
  501. 20:22Yes. Yes, a portion of the investments
  502. 20:26is funded by Flanders.
  503. 20:29In the past, decisions have been made
  504. 20:31that have led to Flanders contributing
  505. 20:33a bit less. So that impacts our
  506. 20:35financial figures. Even though we don't
  507. 20:38always have any influence on that
  508. 20:40ourselves. Also environmental aspects
  509. 20:42and issues. PFAS is a well-known aspect
  510. 20:45. That also has an impact on our costs.
  511. 20:48Investments that are more expensive.
  512. 20:51And as I mentioned before the break,
  513. 20:53construction costs that are just
  514. 20:55becoming more expensive, rising more
  515. 20:57than inflation, have a direct impact on
  516. 20:59our figures, on our cash generation.
  517. 21:01Yes.
  518. 21:02Yes. Okay. Now, when you look at your
  519. 21:06business, what do you look at? What are
  520. 21:11the KPIs you use to lead this company,
  521. 21:13which is particularly important for a
  522. 21:15country like Belgium? What are they? I
  523. 21:20don't think it's very different from
  524. 21:22other companies. Given the high
  525. 21:26investments we make, the return on our
  526. 21:28major investments is actually very
  527. 21:30important. And that might be slightly
  528. 21:36different than in traditional
  529. 21:37commercial companies, in the sense that
  530. 21:39we also make investments that generate
  531. 21:41little or no return for us as a company
  532. 21:43, but which do have a social return. Be
  533. 21:48it for Flanders or for safety, for
  534. 21:50example, maintaining or constructing
  535. 21:52bike paths. No extra ships will sail in
  536. 21:56because of that, but it is important.
  537. 22:01What we do notice is, especially now in
  538. 22:03the context where we also have to
  539. 22:05secure financing, is that the return we
  540. 22:07get on certain investments we make with
  541. 22:09clients is becoming more important. And
  542. 22:13we notice now in conversations with
  543. 22:15clients, yes, that they haven't always
  544. 22:17been used to that, right. As I said
  545. 22:20earlier, we have been used to being
  546. 22:22able to make all investments. I
  547. 22:24sometimes compare it to the fact that
  548. 22:26not only our own employees, but also
  549. 22:28our clients, our shareholders, or more
  550. 22:30broadly think there's a donkey in the
  551. 22:32attic. You pull its tail and the money
  552. 22:35just falls out. Yes, the donkey is
  553. 22:38almost empty and we now have to go to
  554. 22:40the bank. Hm.
  555. 22:47Yes. What long-term choices do you have
  556. 22:50to make as CFO?
  557. 22:51That is
  558. 22:52to be able to realize all those future
  559. 22:54plans.
  560. 22:56That is a good mix of investments. That
  561. 22:59is, I think it's important and that we
  562. 23:01also absolutely strive to remain
  563. 23:03independent, right. Before the summer
  564. 23:06period, a number of articles appeared
  565. 23:07in the media that there would be an
  566. 23:09entry. I think we really strive to
  567. 23:13remain independent. Which means that we
  568. 23:15, yes, have to have our financial
  569. 23:17affairs in good order. And that is not
  570. 23:20just about our own financial
  571. 23:22housekeeping or our own company. So
  572. 23:26looking at our own cost structure, that
  573. 23:28we have, as our CEO says, our ducks in
  574. 23:31a row. But also the right mix of
  575. 23:36investments, a good spread of
  576. 23:38investments so that with the financing
  577. 23:40we are now taking on, we can also
  578. 23:42ensure that we remain an independent
  579. 23:44company.
  580. 23:47We will come back in part two of our
  581. 23:49conversation extensively to how you
  582. 23:50actually raised that, because it is
  583. 23:52quite a large amount. So I am very
  584. 23:54curious about that. I might want to
  585. 23:57zoom in on finance, your team. What
  586. 24:00does your team actually look like to
  587. 24:02lead this company? What does that look
  588. 24:04like?
  589. 24:06Broadly speaking, it doesn't look very
  590. 24:08different from a traditional finance
  591. 24:10department.
  592. 24:12There have been some changes, as I
  593. 24:14mentioned earlier, finance didn't
  594. 24:16really have a seat at the table in the
  595. 24:18past. H
  596. 24:19which was absolutely not easy, also for
  597. 24:22my predecessor or predecessors. So, in
  598. 24:25the past we didn't really have finance
  599. 24:27business partners. It was controlling
  600. 24:29that you had. You had accounting. So we
  601. 24:32have now introduced that, we call them
  602. 24:34finance managers. I also call them mini
  603. 24:36CFOs who really support and challenge
  604. 24:39the business. Which also means
  605. 24:41management reporting is now drawn up
  606. 24:42monthly. That is also new. What might
  607. 24:46be different from traditional finance
  608. 24:48departments is that we have a very
  609. 24:50large procurement department. That is
  610. 24:53more than 20 employees,
  611. 24:55but that is linked to the fact that we
  612. 24:57are bound by public procurement laws.
  613. 25:00So, it is not a traditional procurement
  614. 25:02department. It is more focused on
  615. 25:05following the procedures. So, how we
  616. 25:08are structured is, yes, finance
  617. 25:10managers, controlling. Those are
  618. 25:13separate teams. Procurement also falls
  619. 25:16under that. So, a finance manager has
  620. 25:18controllers reporting to them, and
  621. 25:20procurement reporting to them. In
  622. 25:22addition, the traditional general
  623. 25:24accounting.
  624. 25:24Uh-huh.
  625. 25:26We are also setting up a cell now,
  626. 25:28financing, with the loans we are taking
  627. 25:30on and will take on in the future. And
  628. 25:34since January, EPMO, so project
  629. 25:36management, also falls under finance.
  630. 25:39Okay, very clear. So you had to adjust
  631. 25:44a number of things in the team to
  632. 25:45secure that seat at the table.
  633. 25:48That's right, that's right. And that is
  634. 25:50, yes, also a cultural shift in the
  635. 25:52company. We work
  636. 25:54How big was the shock for the team?
  637. 25:57Because, yes, you come in and you try
  638. 25:59to change a number of things.
  639. 26:01To change. Yes. All that change
  640. 26:03management, how did that go?
  641. 26:08I think for the team it was okay,
  642. 26:10except for the way people are used to
  643. 26:12implementing changes bottom-up within
  644. 26:13the company, with a lot of involvement
  645. 26:15from team members.
  646. 26:20That is positive. The change within
  647. 26:26finance I did a bit more top-down, but
  648. 26:28that was more from the context that a
  649. 26:30lot of things had to change and I
  650. 26:31already had a picture in my mind of
  651. 26:33what that team should ideally look like
  652. 26:35.
  653. 26:39So I think the biggest changes were
  654. 26:41primarily for the whole company. People
  655. 26:43are not used to working with budgets.
  656. 26:45They used to work with plans. So that
  657. 26:50a plan is more that it was mainly
  658. 26:51focused on costs—what they think they
  659. 26:53will spend next year. Whereas with a
  660. 26:56budget, we start from the premise: we
  661. 26:59want to reach a target EBITDA. We have
  662. 27:01a target Capex, and within that target,
  663. 27:03sub-targets must be set, and with those
  664. 27:06targets, we go to the business. Okay,
  665. 27:08that is the maximum that can be spent.
  666. 27:11What are the priorities you set?
  667. 27:12Whereas before, there was no maximum;
  668. 27:14people just looked at what they could
  669. 27:16spend. Okay,
  670. 27:17so that is indeed a major cultural
  671. 27:18shift.
  672. 27:18Different, that is clear.
  673. 27:20Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. Nadien, I
  674. 27:23am extremely grateful to have had this
  675. 27:25conversation with you, and also very
  676. 27:27happy that we were able to gain some
  677. 27:29insight. I always end with the same
  678. 27:31question. What other passions do you
  679. 27:33have? Well, I’ll refer back to the
  680. 27:35very first question you asked. What is
  681. 27:37your story? Because those things come
  682. 27:39back in that. Doing what you love to do
  683. 27:42. I think we are true bon vivants.
  684. 27:46So that includes a number of passions,
  685. 27:49like any good Belgian, gastronomy. It
  686. 27:52helps that my partner also works in
  687. 27:54that sector.
  688. 27:56That is very well selected. He visits a
  689. 27:59great many restaurants. So we enjoy
  690. 28:02going out to restaurants with friends
  691. 28:04or just the two of us. We also have a
  692. 28:08very extensive and very nice group of
  693. 28:10friends. So surrounding ourselves with
  694. 28:12the right people is certainly the case
  695. 28:14as well. We also really love skiing, or
  696. 28:18ski holidays, I should say, with all
  697. 28:20the trimmings. The fun part of ski
  698. 28:24holidays. Isola is a village where I
  699. 28:27really love to spend time.
  700. 28:30Is that your go-to place?
  701. 28:32I go there twice a year. Yes. Yes. And
  702. 28:36finally, and that is actually perhaps
  703. 28:37one of my biggest passions. I am truly
  704. 28:40passionate about Tomorrowland. Um.
  705. 28:45So I make sure that we, with friends,
  706. 28:47try to score tickets every year to
  707. 28:49attend Tomorrowland, including camping
  708. 28:51and all the trimmings.
  709. 28:54Yes, fantastic. Thank you for the
  710. 28:56conversation. It was a very good
  711. 28:57conversation. Thank you. Absolutely.
  712. 28:59Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, thank
  713. 29:01you for watching this episode of the
  714. 29:03CFO podcast. Next week, we will again
  715. 29:05welcome a sharp CFO to our studios to
  716. 29:08inform, trigger, and who knows, inspire
  717. 29:10you. See you next week.
  718. 29:16Next week on the CFO playbook. Nadien
  719. 29:19Aarts, CFO of Port of Antwerp-Bruges.

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of "Our biggest expense is capex - and it has increased significantly." - Nadine Aerts, CFO PoAB by CFO Studios, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 4,546 words across 719 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to choose a caption track available on the video.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, caption language selection, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.