Sept. 19, 2025
By Nick Behan
From manufacturing and supply chains to customs and commercial strategy, Julie brings a rare, holistic view to the future of transportation. Now serving as Chief Business Development Officer at Getlink, the company that operates the Channel Tunnel, Julie is shaping the group’s strategic growth in decarbonisation, digital transformation and cross-border mobility. Her perspective spans multiple industries and geographies, and in this conversation she shares her views on AI, sustainability, and the infrastructure challenges behind Europe’s green logistics ambitions. With a particular focus on what it means to lead meaningful innovation in a listed company, Julie offers insight into what’s coming next and what still needs to be figured out.
Reflecting on your time in transportation, what’s been the most transformative change you’ve witnessed, and how has it shaped the way the sector operates today?
Without question, the digital transformation of logistics. Over the past decade, we’ve shifted from manual, siloed operations to fully digitised, end-to-end processes. While goods still move physically, the competitive edge increasingly lies in the quality of the accompanying data flow. From demand planning (S&OP) in manufacturing to warehouse and transport management systems, digital tools now underpin the entire supply chain.
What was once a paper-heavy, linear process is now integrated, traceable, and driven by real-time insights. In logistics especially, digital investment has become the norm, not the exception, and the difference in performance between providers often comes down to their digital maturity.
What do you see as the most pressing sustainability challenge in your area of the sector, and how is your organisation responding, through innovation, policy, or operations?
Decarbonisation remains the biggest challenge, and opportunity, for the transport and logistics sector. At Getlink, we’ve made a public commitment to cut our CO₂ emissions by 54% by 2030, and we’re on track to deliver it. But beyond reducing our own operational footprint, we’re focused on championing low-carbon infrastructure across the board.
We’ve conducted studies in partnership with the Toulouse Scholl of Economics to model a new financial indicator that ‘carbon-adjusts’ our profit margins. It is the first time that a listed company takes CO₂ emissions into account in its financial performance and Getlink compares very favourably. We’re also investing heavily in renewable energy through a large-scale solar panel initiative across our concession land, particularly in lorry parking zones.
At a policy level, we’re advocating for greater transparency and consistency in Scope 3 reporting, which would allow our customers to fully value the carbon advantage of our infrastructure and help drive modal shift.
How do you balance commercial performance with the long-term imperative to become a more sustainable business, and where do you feel the biggest trade-offs or opportunities lie?
In our case, commercial performance and sustainability are closely aligned. As a low-carbon transport provider, the more that governments and businesses prioritise sustainability, the more opportunity we see. Our infrastructure is already ‘green’ by nature, and as regulation tightens across Europe, our value proposition strengthens.
So unlike many businesses navigating complex trade-offs between profit and purpose, our growth is positively correlated with sustainability goals. That said, our challenge lies in making sure customers and policymakers truly understand, and reward, that carbon advantage.
Where is AI already changing the game in your organisation (or the sector more broadly), and what excites or concerns you most about what’s coming next?
AI is already delivering measurable impact across our business. We’ve appointed a Chief Data and AI Officer to lead the transformation and are investing in both in-house tools and partnerships with startups to accelerate innovation. In operations, AI is helping us improve predictive maintenance, using real-time data to detect and prevent rolling stock issues before they happen, improving safety, reliability, and cost efficiency.
In customs, where the work is heavily data-driven, AI is enabling faster document processing, compliance checks, and integration across systems. Internally, we’re rolling out Microsoft Copilot to give employees AI support in everyday tasks, from writing reports to creating presentations, while ensuring we maintain control over data security.
The potential is enormous, but so are the risks, particularly for infrastructure operators handling sensitive data and public services. For us, security and governance are just as important as speed and scale.
Looking ahead to 2030, what single shift do you think will most define the future of transportation, and why?
The electrification of freight, particularly trucking, will be one of the most transformative developments by 2030.. We’re investing in charging infrastructure on both sides of the tunnel to anticipate the electrification of our customers’ fleet.
New operational models are also emerging. In France, for example, we’re seeing electric trucks run long-distance routes using battery-swapping trailers every 300 km, eliminating long recharging stops and offering greater flexibility in driver scheduling. This also helps address the looming driver shortage, which is one of the biggest constraints facing the industry.
Longer-term, hydrogen and alternative fuels will also play a role, but the path forward isn’t linear. The challenge lies in scaling infrastructure and aligning regulatory, energy, and transport systems to work together. 2030 is just around the corner and it will require urgent, joined-up thinking to get there.