In this episode, we speak to Norbert Kouwenhoven, who leads on blockchain for customs, immigration and border management across the EU at IBM. With blockchain rapidly becoming the technology of the moment in shipping, we sat down with Norbert at the Sea Traffic Management conference in Venice and began by asking him to give us a brief description of what blockchain is, and how it works.

So what is Norbert's role? And what are some of the projects and initiatives IBM is involved within the blockchain space?

While blockchain may have some killer applications, it isn't the solution to every problem. So are there particular use cases that leaders need to understand to help them evaluate whether it's a solution to their particular problem?

With the profile of blockchain so high does Norbert believe it's sometimes over-hyped? And what advice would he have for companies wanting to explore blockchain?

From a cybersecurity perspective, it's said that the distributed nature of the blockchain offers advantages. Does Norbert agree? And if so will it be enough to make it more secure than the current systems we're used to?

Thank you for joining us for this Executive Briefing podcast, brought to you by Intelsat. For more guidance on how to futureproof your maritime connectivity, visit Intelsat's Maritime Resource center.

We look forward to your company again soon.