Stijn Stabel

My job as CTO? To ensure harmony between technology and the people within the company

Despite his title of Chief Technology Officer at Carrefour, Stijn Stabel believes that technological evolution is no longer the goal in this rapidly changing digital landscape. “It’s about giving people the power and strength to build meaningful relationships with technology.” This nominee for the ICT & Digital Coach of the Year award uses technology, and AI in particular, to empower employees, increase the company’s productivity and cultivate innovation.

What does inspirational and coaching leadership mean to Stijn Stabel?

“I see myself primarily as a facilitator: I help people develop by helping them to identify their own strengths, weaknesses and goals. In doing so, I give them direction, like a mentor, without doing the work for them. At all levels of management within Carrefour, we avoid micro-managing. New team members are given full trust from day one and are encouraged to make decisions for themselves.”

“As a coaching leader, I also focus heavily on team success, I don’t want a collection of ‘brilliant jerks’ who are looking to mainly score for themselves. I emphasize open communication and active collaboration between all team members, so that everyone is keen on learning, improving and growing together to strengthen each other as well as the company. In this way, leadership is within every employee. And then my role is in making sure that each individual can reach their full potential.”

Which personal achievements is Stijn most proud of?

“In recent years, we have turned our entire support organization into an internal department. This also included a complete turnaround in the management style of our company, which was previously known to be quite old-fashioned. Meanwhile, we’re seeing the result of this transformation: services to our customers, franchisees and users are all improving drastically. As a digital retailer, Carrefour is also once again an attractive employer for IT and tech people.”

“A crucial task for me as CTO is to ensure that technology – increasingly AI – can work harmoniously with the people within the company, and within our company culture. I encourage people to see change as a form of growth. I therefore believe that the desire to learn is a more important criterion than the required competencies when hiring someone. I resolutely go for the best fit with the job and the success of the team. That’s why I look for employees who want to sharpen their skills, acquire knowledge and use that motivation to achieve their own goals and those of the company.”