Dr. Umut Arıcan is an executive and researcher whose career brings together maritime operations, industrial engineering, information technology, digital transformation, and academia. Having started his professional journey at sea as an oceangoing officer, he currently serves as IT & Digital Transformation Director at YILPORT Holding, leading technology, digitalisation, automation, data, and AI initiatives across port and terminal operations in multiple countries. He holds a PhD from Istanbul Technical University and has authored national and international academic articles and book chapters in maritime studies, digital transformation, ERP, automation, and decision-support systems. From the 2026–2027 academic year, he will also give a lessson to undergraduate and graduate courses at a public university, bringing together executive experience, academic research, and education.

My professional journey began at sea. After studying Deck and Industrial Engineering at the Turkish Naval Academy, I served as an oceangoing deck officer. The experience I gained in maritime operations — safety, discipline, decision-making under uncertainty, and teamwork — was later strengthened through my Industrial Engineering studies at Istanbul Technical University. I subsequently took on responsibilities across procurement, business and process development, project management, ERP, business intelligence, and digital transformation. This journey shaped a multidisciplinary perspective through which I evaluate organisations across operations, people, processes, technology, and data. Throughout my career at Arkas Maritime Group, I held roles spanning procurement, process development, project management, and digital transformation leadership. In my final position as Digital Transformation Director, I led process standardisation, ERP transformation, RPA, artificial intelligence, business intelligence, and data governance initiatives across more than 30 countries. One of the most significant programmes during this period was ARMA, a greenfield integrated platform for liner and agency operations. I led its development and go-live journey, which extended over more than eight years. ARMA ultimately evolved into an enterprise platform connecting thousands of users, dozens of integrated modules, and end-to-end maritime processes within a common digital environment.

In 2026, I joined YILPORT Holding as IT & Digital Transformation Director. My current focus includes strengthening the digital maturity of the global terminal network, modernising technology infrastructure, standardising operational processes, advancing data-driven management, and expanding the use of artificial intelligence and automation. I approach port operations by combining field realities with technology and management perspectives, with a strong emphasis on converting investments into measurable operational and financial outcomes.

My approach to technology centres on directing human time and capability toward higher-value activities. Automating repetitive and labour-intensive processes creates greater capacity for analysis, decision-making, problem-solving, and creativity. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, RPA, intelligent agents, ERP, data analytics, and business intelligence have therefore formed a substantial part of my professional work for many years. I view digital transformation as a continuous management discipline that brings strategy, technology, processes, data, people, and governance into a coherent operating model.

I have pursued my academic work in parallel with my professional career. Following my master’s degree in Maritime Transportation Engineering at Istanbul Technical University, I completed my PhD in Maritime Studies at the same university. My doctoral research examined the governance of ERP-based digital transformation in container shipping through the ARMA ERP programme and developed an end-to-end reference model. I continue to contribute to research in maritime studies, ERP, robotic process automation, digital transformation, and decision-support systems through international journal publications, conference studies, and book chapters.

I place particular value on the exchange of knowledge between academia and industry. Academic research provides rigorous methods for approaching complex business problems, while real operational challenges generate meaningful questions for further research. I aim to bring this connection into my undergraduate and graduate teaching through an applied approach grounded in both research and professional practice.

Today, I bring together the perspectives of an industrial engineer, maritime professional, technology executive, and PhD researcher. My main focus is helping large and complex organisations become more efficient, data-driven, highly automated, and capable of continuous learning. Curiosity, continuous learning, critical thinking, and turning knowledge into practical outcomes have remained central motivations throughout my career.