Dr. Carlo Van de Weijer

Singularity Expert: Mobility, Automotive

Carlo van de Weijer has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the TU Eindhoven and a PhD degree with honors from TU in Graz. He carries a broad experience in the automotive industry with a.o. executive positions at Siemens and TomTom. Currently he is managing director of the newly founded Eindhoven AI System Institute EAISI at Eindhoven University of Technology, and Fellow for future of mobility and transport within the Deloitte Center for the Edge. He advises ministries and industries around the world on the future of mobility and is member of the supervisory board of several high-tech companies and start-ups. Furthermore, he is a weekly columnist in a leading Dutch national newspaper.

Speaking Topics

Future of Mobility; Lessons from an Industry in Disruption

When digitization strikes an industry, changes come faster than most traditional players can prepare for. Yet, with all unpredictability that comes along with disruption there are some fixed rules that one can prepare for. This makes mobility a real example of an industry in the midst of disruption. Carlo van de Weijer will highlight the most important future trends within mobility, from uberization to self-driving vehicles and electrification. Yet mainly as an example of how disruption can strike, and how to deal with a future that is harder to predict than ever before.

Robotics

Machines will, sooner or later, have higher calculation power than humans, which in principle also could make them smarter as we are. What do such smart and powerful machines mean for society, for work, for our added value as human beings? Can we have feelings for robots? Can robots have feelings for us? And what do we have to do to prevent things going out of hand? In any case we cannot deny the fact that we will be joined by thinking machines. Carlo van de Weijer gives examples of the impact of robotics for industry, mobility, health and other segments and tries to retrieve some lessons from examples in the real world that can make you prepare for the world still to come.

Smart Cities

The attraction of urbanized areas, and more specific cities seems is a world-wide trend that seems not to be stopped. In parallel with this trend we see the number of smart city projects explode. Most commonly, a smart city is defined as an urban area that uses different types of electronic data collection sensors to supply information which is used to manage assets and resources efficiently. But in the meantime, the exponential growth of data retrieved by private parties appears to be much faster and often leaves city initiatives in its shadow. Real smart cities therefore cooperate with private companies and citizens to make the maximum out of the huge potential of technological development. Carlo van de Weijer shares his experience in smart cities and mobility to picture the most important trends in urbanization. What exactly is a smart city doing in practice? Does it require a specific infrastructure? Or should we rather aim for stupid cities to end up with a smarter society?

Future of Work

Automation seems to be sweeping through companies relentlessly, canceling out obsolete jobs, creating new types of jobs. Industry 4.0 promises factories where resources come in the one side and products come out on the other side, costing marginally more than the resources themselves. Will Artificial Intelligence create a next wave of job replacement, and unlike earlier waves create massive unemployment, or will this fear again come untrue and will we again find new jobs that today haven't even been invented yet? How can we prepare for that and how should we educate the future generation for such an indistinct future? And what leadership is required for such a new reality? Carlo van de Weijer will present the trends and guidelines on how the future of work might look. What jobs are secure and what jobs are destined to be replaced, how much should we care and how should we prepare?

Leadership

Technological disruption is affecting every part of our lives; every business, every industry, our society, our personal lives. It also directly affects the way we lead organizations. In a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, traditional control-and-command management seem to be quickly replaced by value and purpose-driven leadership. With a high level of empowerment and self-steering and a clear sense that the most important stuff is hardest to measure. Although there is certainly a dependence on what industry you are in, or what phase of life your company is in, the purpose-led exponential leadership will clearly gain ground. Carlo van de Weijer shares his experience in executive positions in both large corporate environments as well as exponential companies, and from the student teams and start-ups he helped setting up. He will highlight the details that make the difference. To achieve this new type of leadership we need pioneers, change makers, game changers - people who embrace change and see it as an opportunity to grow and make a difference. But without losing contact with everyday reality