Our guest is Tom Willemen, CEO of Willemen Groep, a leading Belgian construction powerhouse spanning infrastructure, real estate, and civil engineering. Under his leadership, the group has become a frontrunner in sustainability and digital transformation. As Chairman of Embuild, Tom is a vocal advocate for industrialising the sector and modernising the construction ecosystem. Today, we discuss the challenges and future of the industry.

Show notes: 

Willemen Groep (https://www.willemen.be/en) 

Tom Willemen (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomwillemen/) 

BuildWise (https://www.buildwise.be/en/) 

BuildWise Vision Comittee publication on “Circularity” (https://www.buildwise.be/media/xmtbgbcw/bwi_visiedocument_circularity.pdf) 

BuildWise Vision Committee publication “Finance and Affordability of construction in 2031” (https://www.buildwise.be/media/apephizu/bwi-230201-visierapport_1i23-int.pdf) 

Time stamps:

00:00 Intro

01:50 Inside Willemen Groep: what “day-to-day” really looks like

2:40 Challenges in the construction industry 

5:06 Potential solutions and innovation

10:07 Finding time to think in an industry that never stops

11:11 The BuildWise vision committee

12:23 Zooming in the Circularity report

16:09 The Affordability report

18:03 Leadership in construction

21:13 Lessons and setbacks of Willemen Groep 

24:48 Vision for the Future: 2040 

31:40 The most difficult ecosystem part to redesign

34:56 Tips and tricks to stay informed and keep learning

38:30 Outro