It’s my job to build bridges and link

“A port needs to grow. It has to be dynamic. Standing still is the same as deteriorating”, says Sandra De Mey, Promotion Council North Sea Port Board Member.

Sandra De Mey: “It is my job to build bridges and link people”

For pretty much her whole life, Sandra De Mey has explored every corner of the port of Ghent. She has in recent years expanded her terrain to the entirety of North Sea Port. This is why she is so excited about her newest challenge: Board Member of the Promotion Council North Sea Port.

According to Sandra De Mey, Einstein said it best when he stated: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change.” This statement is certainly true when it comes to the future of North Sea Port, says the newest Promotion Council North Sea Port Board Member. Following the merger two years ago, great strides have been taken to unify the ports of Ghent, Terneuzen, and Vlissingen, but more work needs to be done. “I always compare North Sea Port to a book on a bookshelf. It has a title and a beautiful cover, but half the pages are empty because the story is still being written”, explains Ms De Mey. “The merger into North Sea Port was the right decision, even though it was a big change. A port needs to grow. It has to be dynamic. Standing still is the same as deteriorating, both for the port as a whole and for the companies and people working in it.”

Walking the streets For more than 27 years, Ms De Mey worked for the Port of Ghent. Following the merger into North Sea Port two years ago, she is now Commercial Manager, responsible for Agri & Biofuel, Chemical, Oil & Petroleum, and Non-Containerised Food. In all, this amounts to almost thirty years of port experience. But her love for all things port-related started much earlier than that. “I grew up in the small port town of Oostakker, which is a borough of Ghent. We were always playing in the port and I was just fascinated by it”, she shares. “We had to do an internship at school, and I wanted to do mine at the Port of Ghent. As soon as I started, I knew I wanted to work there.” Upon landing her coveted job, she was thrown straight into the proverbial deep end. “When I started, my boss told me that I would spend every day of my fi rst year in the port, meeting every ship that had just arrived and handing them a welcome pack”, recalls Mr De Mey. “I was a shy 21-year-old girl who knew what a ship looked like, but knew nothing of port life. But I learnt quickly. I would visit eight to ten ships a day and meet all these different nationalities, including other port professionals. I had so many adventures and have so many good stories, including the one about a Chinese sailor who tried to lock me into his cabin.” It proved to be the perfect introduction into port life. “I have never stopped ‘walking the streets’, as I like to call it. As a result, I have a fairly good idea what is going on in the port.”

Bigger playing fi eld It is this knowledge of the port that led to her appointment to Board Member of the Promotion Council North Sea Port. She was recommended by North Sea Port CEO Daan Schalck. “I am relishing this opportunity”, states Ms De Mey. “My playing fi eld has just become even bigger. I am really looking forward to it, as I realise there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.” She says people should see t he Promotion Council as a valuable instrument for the entire port area. “It gives people access to all companies operating in the port. Most companies don’t know what their neighbours do, which is a real shame. It is understandable, because each company is working hard on its core business and that doesn’t leave much time to see what others are up to.” But that is exactly where the Promotion Council can play such an important part. “I see it as my job to listen to what is going on and to link people. I am always placing people together because I think they can benefi t from one another. That is when magical things happen. I joined the Promotion Council to do the same: to build bridges and link people.”