Cindy Kerzaan, Executive Assistant at Schiphol Travel. For twenty years, she has been an anchor point in a world driven by deadlines, time zones, and unexpected turns. No airs and graces, no big words, just warmth, clarity, and a work ethic she inherited from home. Her influence isn’t printed on a business card but felt in the rhythm of the work.
Emails that are never left unanswered. Journeys that always move forward. Colleagues who walk in and instantly feel supported. It’s a culture where people take responsibility without being asked, a culture Cindy has helped shape.
Growing up under airplanes
Cindy grew up in Rijsenhout, quite literally in the shadow of Schiphol. Airplanes were so commonplace that you learned to recognize their flight paths. Her father worked at Fokker in Schiphol-East. The airport wasn’t a destination; it was her backyard with bike rides to plane‑spotting locations. And somewhere in a drawer there’s still a small piece of evidence of that early calling: a booklet from her grandmother noting that she wanted to work “at a travel agency” someday.
From tourism to business travel
During her studies, Cindy consciously chose the business side of tourism. No beach brochures, but contracts, planning, and responsibility. Schiphol Travel turned out to be exactly the place where everything came together: close to the airport, right in the heart of the action, and with a way of working that challenges you to take initiative.
When Cindy started, the team consisted of twelve colleagues. Today, there are more than 120, spread across the Netherlands and the UK. She grew along with the company, in role, in trust, and in responsibility, and saw the world change alongside it.
The transformation went beyond processes. Where heels, suits, and ties once defined the norm, today its business casual and approachable. The floor gained a more home‑like feel, the logo a modern update, and the team a new mix of generations.
But the essence remained the same: high‑level service, carried by people who leave nothing undone.
“If something gets stuck, you figure out how it can work,” says Cindy. “‘No’ is never the starting point.”
The first workday: coming home
Some memories linger because of a small detail. Cindy still remembers exactly how it smelled on her very first day.
“Nervously, I walked in from the parking garage. That smell… it immediately felt like coming home.”
Twenty years later, that feeling hasn’t changed. It lives in the colleagues, the management, the reception, the Fortune bar, and the people of the WTC, a community where everyone sees one another and helps, without needing an appointment.
A day you can’t plan
Cindy’s mornings begin with something small and thoughtful: fresh filter coffee for Daan. Then a rhythm starts that is never the same. Incoming emails, schedules carefully aligned, supplier requests, contracts, last‑minute changes, and the inevitable escalations that can only be resolved in person.
“You never know what the day will bring,” she says. “But you don’t end the day until the work is done.”
A lesson that stays
A colleague who has since passed away gave Cindy a life lesson that still guides her every day: “Understand what you’re doing. Never work on autopilot.”
It shapes how she works, how she learns, and how she mentors new colleagues. What you see is what you get and that’s what makes her a trusted point of contact for anyone still finding their way.
A second family
Schiphol Travel feels like a second family. Cindy is deeply grateful to Daan and Arlette for the opportunity they gave her twenty years ago to start at the wonderful Schiphol Travel. Initially, her application was rejected, but after a follow‑up letter and a challenging interview, during which she didn’t know she had already been hired, she was ultimately offered the job.
Their trust and guidance helped her grow, develop herself, and remain a committed and happy part of Schiphol Travel.
For Cindy, WTC Schiphol Airport is exactly the place where everything comes together: dynamism and calm, professionalism and humanity. Within five minutes you’re at the terminal, management is visible, and the reception staff know you by name.
“You really do this together here.”
A moment that changed everything
Home is her anchor. Cindy is 46 and became a mother at 36 to her daughter Olivia, now nine. Olivia’s birth, unexpectedly early at thirty weeks, changed everything. It was one of those moments you don’t plan, don’t imagine, and never forget.
The mindset she was raised with, always stay positive and strong, carried her through. The experience made her softer, more grateful, and even more positive. It also revealed how strong her bond with her husband truly is: her rock and her support. His calm, love, and unconditional support gave her stability during moments when everything felt uncertain. She is still deeply proud of and grateful for that every single day.
“I value my family enormously,” she says. “And even more so, the balance between work and private life.”
What she wants to pass on
Her advice is simple and precise:
“Give one hundred percent. Stay positive. Understand what you’re doing. And finish what you start.”
What you give comes back, in trust, in teams, and in results.
Twenty years, countless journeys, and one constant at WTC Schiphol Airport. “Coming home,” she says. “Every single time.”
