Never a dull day: Ruben Vandam on five years of giving, and getting, energy at WDP
Ruben Vandam was 22 when his WDP career began. He felt part of the team immediately, pleasantly surprised by the trust and responsibility he was given from day one. The experience he’s gained over the past five years has been invaluable, and it’s carried him all the way to Head of Energy & Sustainability at WDP Belgium. Here’s how he’s experienced his time so far, in his own words.
When I joined WDP 5 years ago
When I started at WDP, I was honestly a bit shocked by the scale of the projects I was thrown straight into: Big Foot, the Climate Action Plan, the PV programme. Back then, still just 22, it sometimes felt almost surreal that I got to work on things like that. Thankfully, it all worked out.
What WDP means for me today
Today, the possibilities within and with WDP still keep surprising me. The portfolio is growing, the impact is growing, our ambitions stay strong, and new opportunities keep emerging that make our results possible. And then there’s the team, which just keeps expanding with great colleagues. It’s an environment where you can feel that things are moving. Never a dull day at WDP.
There’s never a dull day at WDP.
How I see WDP in the future
In the coming years, I mostly hope we can leave an even bigger mark on the energy market. With bold energy projects, for ourselves and for our clients, with creative sustainability solutions, and with the drive to always stay one step ahead. In short: that we keep strengthening our pioneering position and keep pushing the road forward.
The project I’ll never forget
If I have to pick one project that will always stick with me, it’s the solar roof on Big Foot. Not just because it was the largest solar roof in Europe, but also because it was the first time we really started making ‘clicks’ in energy marketing.
It was also quite the introduction to the reality of energy and project development: delay risks to manage constantly, special voltage levels, a special connection with grid operator Fluvius, and above all, a lot of stakeholders, a lot of dependencies, a lot of puzzle-solving.
The good part is that complexity shaped me. What felt at the time like ‘learning to swim in open water’ is now experience I carry with me every day. And the most memorable detail? Commissioning finally succeeded, with plenty of stress, three days before the deadline, right on my birthday. That’s not a moment you forget.