Ports and their logistics chains, which are demanded by the central role they play in the functioning of a globalised economy, are facing, day after day, more dynamic and demanding performance requirements and levels of efficiency, security, flexibility, adaptability and resilience, a trend that the emergence of COVID-19 has contributed to drastically accelerate.

Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a diverse constellation of technologies, such as wireless communications (5G/LTE), IoT, Edge Computing, blockchain, robotics, automation, etc., which are often grouped under the denomination of “Exponential Technologies” because their development rates are increasingly faster and accelerate simultaneously; and the irruption of 4.0 tools as digital twins, in addition to facilitating compliance with these requirements and boosting the competitiveness and sustainability of ports, are beginning to forge the pattern of the ports of tomorrow, the so-called “Smart Ports.”

In fact, the irruption of these technologies in ports and their logistics chains promises to go beyond providing incremental improvements and new capabilities, as they are called to cause disruptions in all spheres of port activity, including its rules of the game and business models; to redefine its frontiers; as well as to forge new paradigms yet to be visualised. In short, to reinvent the ports.

Final report

The objectives of the seminar are to raise awareness and understanding in the port logistics community in Latin American and Caribbean countries of the immense disruptive capacity of these technologies; to provide a vision of the effects that they will have on the “modus operandi” of ports and their logistics chains; and to reflect on the transition strategies and how to take advantage of the opportunities that they will bring about.

To that end, a select panel of international experts will discuss and reflect, in open dialogue with the audience, on the structural changes that these technologies are driving today and are set to bring about in the future on ports and their logistics chains.

The seminar is aimed at the broad spectrum of technical executives and professionals that make up the Latin American logistics port sector, both from the business and institutional spheres, as well as university students, entrepreneurs and start-ups that are attracted by the business opportunities offered by this industry.

Venue and date:
The Seminar on Exponential Ports is scheduled to be held virtually on 19, 21, 26 and 28 April 2022, through the ZOOM platform, starting at 10:00 a.m. (Caracas time)

Language: Spanish with simultaneous translation into English.

Register for free by clicking on the following link: https://bit.ly/3se4szw

For further information, please contact:

At the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA):

• Elisabet Torres
  Analyst of Studies and Proposals
  Tel. +582129557109
  E-mail: etorres@sela.org

At the National Port Authority (APN) of Peru:

• Elar Salvador Granda
  Head of the Port Training Unit
  Tel. +51996415922
  E-mail: esalvador@apn.gob.pe

Manuel Martínez de Ubago Álvarez de Sotomayor

He holds a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of A Coruña. After combining his last years of studies with a job at MCValnera, a leading port consultancy company in Spain, he decided to further his studies in maritime transport and logistics.

The award of a scholarship from the Barrie de la Maza Foundation, an institution that invests in young talents to be trained in the world’s leading universities, allowed him to pursue a second master’s degree in Transport, Infrastructure and Logistics at TU Delft, in the Netherlands. He graduated Cum Laude with a thesis in cooperation with the Port Authority of Rotterdam on the future of ports under the Physical Internet, a recent topic in the field of transport and logistics.

After working two years for STC-NESTRA of the STC Group in Rotterdam as a port consultant and trainer in the field of port digitalization, he recently joined Next-Port (NXP)/Next-Port.ai as business and strategy manager.

María Román Del Molino

A Telecommunications Engineer from the University of Seville, she completed the Management Development Programme at San Telmo Business School. She began her professional career at the multinational consulting firm Accenture, where she became a Project Manager, managing multiple national and international IT consulting projects.

She moved to the port sector in 2011 with the company Portel Logistic Technologies, where, as Manager of the Algeciras delegation, she worked as technical and functional director for 6 years, acquiring a deep knowledge of the logistics-port sector.

Since 2017, she works as Head of Operations and Port Community Services at the Sub-Directorate General for Operations of the Port of Algeciras Bay Authority (APBA), where she is responsible for planning, managing and optimizing land operations and port services, focused on streamlining the physical and documentary processes associated with passenger and goods traffic. Among the different projects she leads, she is the operational director of the Port Community System (PCS).

Guillermo Massot Cristino

Guillermo Massot is a Naval Engineer and MBA. He has extensive professional experience in the port and supply chain sectors. His background includes management positions at DP World (Regional Manager of M&A and Business Planning for Europe and Russia), Terminal Investment Limited (Port Efficiency Manager) as well as Head of Digital Partnerships and M&A Department at Maersk Logistics and Services.

At Maersk, he was responsible for the definition and execution of the digital product strategy in supply chains, articulated around cloud and multi-enterprise solutions: logistics visibility, digital collaboration platforms in order management, inventory management, demand forecasting in S&OP environments, transport management systems and digital freight forwarding and compliance.

He is currently Managing Partner at Althium, a professional services firm specialising in Transport and Supply Chain, where he leads M&A projects and Supply Chain Tech operations consulting.

Laura Rodríguez Romo

Digitalization Specialist and Project Manager at TiL since September 2020. As part of the Automation and Digitalization team, she manages the balance between functional scope and business value in the group’s automated terminal solutions, with a focus on landside operations.

Her educational background includes Industrial Engineering, with honours in Product Engineering, a Master’s in Design and Operations Management and Executive Master’s degree in Business Administration.

She started her career in the company Órbita ingeniería, where she worked as a project engineer in the design and implementation of automation projects in the automotive sector, associated with the Ford plant in Valencia.

For the last eight years, she has worked in the Orbita Ports & Terminals division in various roles related to automation engineering projects in the international port sector, including project management, product strategy, business development and marketing.

Cristina Izquierdo Pérez

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, majoring in Automatic Calculus, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from IE Business School.

With 26 years of experience in the ICT sector, her professional career began in 1998 at NOKIA as a software developer for WLAN and PBX products. In 2000 she joined MOVISTAR, where she began to focus her work on business consulting for large financial institutions and multinationals from different productive sectors.

At the end of 2006 she joined Telefónica España as Finance Account Manager (large banks and payment), products related to IT and fixed and mobile communications, and development of new business opportunities. In January 2008 she joined Easynet España, a telecommunications company where she worked as Key Account Manager until November 2012, when she joined Vodafone España as IoT/M2M Sales Specialist.

In 2015 she was appointed IoT Sales Team Leader at Vodafone España, a position she held until November 2019, when she was appointed Head of Business Development Internet of Things and 5G at Vodafone España.

Antonio Tomas Sampedro

Senior Technologist at the Environmental Hydraulics Institute of the University of Cantabria (IHCantabria).

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Cantabria, majoring in Hydraulics, Oceanography and Environment (1997-2003); a master’s degree in Science and Technology for Coastal Management from the University of Cantabria (2003-2004) and a PhD from the University of Cantabria (2003-2009).

Awarded in 2011 with the “Modesto Vigueras” prize by the Technical Association of Ports and Coasts (Spanish Section of PIANC), he has extensive experience in port design, maritime climate, coastal flooding and operational systems; he has participated in more than 60 national and international projects and has published more than 15 articles in SCI journals.

The lines of research on which he is currently focusing his work are the characterisation of maritime climate for port infrastructures, the probabilistic design of ports and their sheltering works, and the management of port infrastructures; in all of them he has stood out for his innovation in the application of statistical techniques linked to Artificial Intelligence.

Christian Blauert

With an academic background in mechanical engineering, specialising in production, logistics, management and economics, Christian Blauert has more than 25 years of experience in the maritime industry, currently serving as Global Director of Port and Terminal Development at Moffatt & Nichol.

Throughout his career, he has been involved in the leadership of terminal automation projects, such as Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) in Hamburg, and has held senior management positions at global port operators affiliated with shipping lines. His experience covers port and container terminal planning, with a strong focus on port optimization and automation of terminal operations (Burchardkai Container Terminal in Hamburg). During his role as a maritime consultant, he advised operators in both technical and commercial areas of the industry. Projects included operational analysis, transport and logistics, procurement, terminal equipment evaluation and IT specifications.

Christian Manrique Valdor

A Civil Engineer with an MBA, he holds a master’s degree in Intelligence Analyst and a master’s degree in Cybersecurity, with training in Business Analytics, Management Development and Innovation Leadership from institutions such as IESE Business School, IE Business School and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Entrepreneur, mentor and lecturer, he has extensive experience in the world of competitive intelligence and innovation, developing and managing leanstartup methodologies.

He currently combines his position as Head of Infrastructure and Public Domain at the Port Authority of Santander with teaching and mentoring technology start-ups on innovation.

Óscar Pernía Fernández

Telecommunications Engineer from the University of Malaga and PhD in Industrial Engineering, specializing in algorithm design and simulation, from the University of Cadiz, he is currently launching Next-Port.ai (NXP), a technology and innovation investment by Moffatt & Nichol Port Engineering based in Long Beach (US). NXP was created as an entity to accelerate the development of SmartPorts solutions, as well as an enabler of differentiating capabilities to materialize the digital transformation of Ports, Terminals and Shipping Lines.

Specializing in the optimization of port operations, his professional career over the last 20 years has been focused on systems integration and process automation. Prior to Moffatt & Nichol and NXP, he worked for the Port Authority of Algeciras, the South Korean shipping company Hanjin Shipping and its TTIA terminal, the software and technology company Navis, part of the Finnish Cargotec group, and the shipping group MSC, where he led the design of processes and technology for the automated installation of the North Terminal of the Port of Valencia as Global Director of Automation and Digitalization for TIL, among others.

Besides the development of solutions, NXP focuses on the dissemination and teaching of Artificial Intelligence in its application to Ports and through simple and practical teaching-learning procedures and the constitution of an international community of experts covering technological, process and business aspects.

Mariela Gutarra Ramos

Computer and Systems Engineer, she holds a master’s degree in International Business Management with specialization in Information Technology, Digital Transformation, Technology, operations and environmental management in ports, administration and organization.

She has 24 years of experience in Information and Communication Technologies in the public and private technology sector, more than 14 years of which in the maritime port sector. In 2021, the Secretariat of the Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) of the Organization of American States (OAS) awards honourable mention to Mariela Gutarra Ramos for her important contribution to the digital transformation of the National Port System of Peru (APN).

Experience in managing high-impact projects, such as the Smart Ports Manual initiative and the Smart Port Callao pilot, strategic guidelines for the implementation of a PCS, PCS and PMS Master Plan, implementation of the Ship Reception and Dispatch System, Port Single Window, Port Component of the Single Window, Automated Authorization Management System – Control at national level applied to the development of the National Port System (APS), implementation of internal management systems with Digital Signatures, Geographic Information System (GIS), BI, Information Security Management System – Certification of the APN under the ISO 27001 standard:2013, interoperability with the DP World Port Terminal in the Appointment Tracking, BPM and others, applying best practices in information technologies that support the strategic, operational and support processes of the APN.

Fausto Arroyo Crejo

He holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. He holds a master’s degree in land planning and management of the urban planning process from the Carlos III University of Madrid and an MBA from the San Telmo Institute in Seville.

Sector specialist in ports, waterways and logistics with an academic background in engineering and business management, with 25 years of experience both in private sector engineering and strategic planning companies and in public port management bodies and corporations and multilateral credit organizations. He has given university training as a lecturer in Port Engineering and Exploitation at the Engineering School of the University of Seville.

At CAF-development bank of Latin America, he participates as a sector specialist in the management of loan operations related to logistics infrastructure (ports, airports, logistics platforms, urban logistics, etc.) and leads technical assistance, capacity building and institutional strengthening activities in the countries of the northern hub. He also coordinates the knowledge agenda on logistics, ports, waterways and public-private collaborative governance of the Bank’s Vice-Presidency for Infrastructure.

Elisabet Torres Izarra

Analyst of the Directorate of Studies and Proposals at the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA). Since 2020, she has served as focal point within the framework of the SELA-CAF Programme: Network of Digital and Collaborative Ports. She has also participated in the organization and development of activities and events in the port sector. Before working at SELA, Elisabet spent 12 years in the Foreign Exchange Department of the Central Bank of Venezuela, specializing in the Venezuelan foreign exchange market. She is an Economist, graduated with honours from the University of Los Andes (Venezuela); she holds a master’s degree in International Economics (Central University of Venezuela) and a Diploma in Planning, Management and Governance of Port Cities (University of Santiago de Chile).

The Seminar on Exponential Ports is organized by:

• Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), through the Network of Digital and Collaborative Ports.
• CAF-development bank of Latin America
• National Port Authority (APN) of Peru
• Port Authority of Santander – Spain
• Next-Port.ai