The big Ceusters family A family business often bears the name of the family that heads up the business. CEUSTERS is no exception. Of course there are many other staff members with different surnames, and together they form a big family that work hard every day, to make customers happy. Here are testimonials from four of our staff members.
'You have to get on the road. That's where the money is.'
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CEUSTERS l Human resources: a closer look
Frederik and Sofie Mortelmans, commercial manager and retail consultant
F
rederik Mortelmans, a lawyer, already had a career behind him when he joined Shopping Center Management Services, one of the companies in the merger that was the genesis of Ceusters nv, thirteen years ago. ‘I built up a huge amount of experience in retail, especially in the Far East, including for Benninkmeijers, the family behind C&A.’ ‘When I turned fifty, it was time to do something different and I was offered the position of sales manager here. I’m primarily involved in management, and act as an estate agent in a secondary role. I don’t really have any training for that, but my experience in retail stands me in good stead. I know how retailers think, I can put myself in their shoes.’ ‘I have the space to define my own role. If you like, I‘m the oil in the wheels for clients,
colleagues, tenants, etc. I try to bring the right people together, especially when opportunities arise. A family business was a new departure for me. A striking difference from large corporations is the short lines of communication. It’s really easy to talk. The whole company can immediately see when you do something well - and also when you do something wrong. The transition to real estate seems to run in his family. Following five years’ experience as a product manager for a major retailer, his daughter Sofie also made the move to real estate eighteen months ago. ‘I started out in residential property as a sideline, but then my father drew my attention to the vacancy for a retail consultant in the region covering West and East Flanders
and Pajottenland, where I live,’ Sofie says. Her operating base is Ghent, her father’s is Antwerp. ‘We don’t bump into each other very often,’ Sofie laughs. Moreover, my father always taught me that you don’t earn any money sitting behind a desk. You have to get on the road. That’s where the money is.’ ‘We generally chat about work at home, even if we don’t organise any meetings at home,’ the father and daughter laugh. ‘Only e-mails are a bit odd; I never know whether to address them to ‘Dad’ or ‘Frederik’. I’ve never had any preferential treatment as ‘Frederik’s daughter’. I applied for the job just as anyone else would. This is not a company for daddy’s boys. On the contrary: in this company you have to be able to work independently, carry out your plan, find your own way and define your role for yourself.’
