From technical assistant to creative force: Annelies Schottey’s ten years at WDP
2026 is the year Annelies Schottey celebrates ten years of enjoying her work at WDP. She started out as a technical assistant, but quickly moved into the role of Marketing Coordinator. She felt at home there right away, and still gets the chance, to this day, to leave her creative mark on WDP. Curious how her first ten years went? This is her story.
When I joined WDP 10 years ago
When I started at WDP, I came from the technical building department of the municipality of Meise. I wanted to make the jump to the private sector while I still could, and I’ve never regretted that decision for a moment.
I started as technical assistant to the project managers, the team that guides the construction of our warehouses. But after a bit more than two years, it became clearer and clearer: the technical and administrative side of the job gave me less energy. I missed room to be creative, to use other talents. WDP gave me the chance to move internally, toward Marketing, a chance I’m still deeply grateful for today. That move turned out to be exactly right.
What WDP means for me today
As Marketing Coordinator I get a lot of freedom to take initiative and be creative. I learn something new every day and get a lot of satisfaction from my work. Today I support our Group Marketing Manager in executing our marketing strategy: from promoting available buildings and new developments, to corporate branding, events, content and communication, both digital and on-site, campaigns, and tools and materials for our sales team.
Today, WDP means an employer where I can give the best of myself, thanks to the freedom and trust I get. I love the beautiful setting where I work, a lovely square farmhouse surrounded by nature, with an equally beautiful, modern interior. And I can say with full conviction that I have fantastic colleagues I can rely on. The drive, the enthusiasm and the positive energy, especially within the Marketing Team, mean a lot to me.
Today, WDP means an employer where I can give the best of myself.
How I see WDP in the future
In the years ahead, I hope Marketing can deliver even stronger, more original and higher-quality projects, in the same hands-on way we like to work. That we can create that real ‘warm bath’ for our clients, as Martijn Sleutjes puts it so well: the client at the centre, with everything geared to their needs. A well-structured customer journey, backed by thoughtful communication, a strong experience and attention to every detail. WDP as a partner: close by, accessible, taking the worry off your hands, from warehouses and energy solutions to fit-out and finishing.
I also hope we keep growing into a strong European player, and that our offices in Milan and Barcelona see nice growth over the coming years, following the successful expansion in Paris under François Le Levier. I’m looking forward to tackling that together, in our own way, true to WDP’s DNA as a family business.
The project I’ll never forget
If I’m honest, it’s not one project I’ll never forget, it’s several. One of the most striking was the promotion campaign for the world’s largest chocolate warehouse, built for Barry Callebaut in Lokeren. Along the E17 motorway we put up a 30-metre container wall. Nobody driving past could miss that piece of communication. Except… the traffic police saw it differently, and we had to take it all down again, fast. Since then, I keep a much closer eye on the regulations around on-site communication.
I’ve also been able to organise plenty of events I’m still proud of. There was Willy De Pauw’s retirement party in 2021, which I renamed ‘Camping Willy’, complete with its own logo, goodies and a full camping theme, since Willy was about to hit the road in his camper. We’re now in 2026, and he’s still working at WDP. That’s how good that party was.
I also think back to the very first Start to Build event for Alliance Healthcare in Veghel, with high-level entertainment and a ceremonial pole-planting. The poles wouldn’t go into the ground for the gentlemen, but our strong colleague Marietta Van Wijk got it done. Turned out the contractor had put stone debris under the other poles.
Or the key handover in Heerlen for Ceva Logistics, where we provided hundreds of balloons, resulting in some very tired arms. And yes, naturally, the wrong balloon got popped, the one without the key for the client.
And finally, I’m hugely proud of our first real client events in Belgium and the Netherlands, promoting our WDP Services, and the WDP Open Warehouses. There we literally opened the doors of our warehouses and invited neighbours, brokers and interested clients in for a tour, with a bite and a drink. For logistics real estate, I think that’s genuinely unique.