Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Frits van Eerd
Dutch businessman and racing driver (born 1967) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Godefridus Franciscus Theodorus "Frits" van Eerd (born 25 March 1967) is a Dutch entrepreneur and racing driver. He was the general manager of Jumbo Groep Holding BV from 2002 to September 2022. As a racing driver, he won the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMP2 Pro/Am category and co-founded Racing Team Nederland.[1][2]
Remove ads
Education and professional career
Van Eerd studied business administration in Utrecht and the United States. In 1992, he joined Jumbo, the family business founded by his father, Karel van Eerd. He started his career as a product manager of the bread department and later became supermarket manager. In 1996, he became general manager at Jumbo and in 2002 he was appointed general manager.[2]
As general manager, Van Eerd led the expansion of Jumbo, which was characterised by strategic acquisitions. Under his leadership, Super de Boer and C1000 were acquired, establishing Jumbo as one of the largest supermarket chains in the Netherlands. Van Eerd remained general manager until his resignation in 2022.[3]
Remove ads
Criminal investigation and resignation from Jumbo
In September 2022, Van Eerd was involved in a large-scale money laundering investigation. The FIOD raided his home and the Jumbo head office in Veghel,[3] The FIOD found €448,000 in cash, hidden in a plastic bag in a refrigerator, mainly in five-hundred-euro banknotes.[4] Van Eerd was arrested and interrogated for five days.[4]
The trial against him began in September 2024.[5] He was suspected of accepting bribes, issuing false invoices and engaging in ‘habitual money laundering’; the frequent money laundering that it became a habit.[4]
In connection with the criminal case, Van Eerd stepped down as general manager of Jumbo in September 2022 - initially temporarily for as long as the criminal investigation would last, but in March 2023 his departure became permanent with the appointment of interim CEO Ton van Veen as permanent chairman of the board.[6][3]
Remove ads
Racing career
Summarize
Perspective
In addition to his business career, Van Eerd was active in motorsport. He started racing in Formula Renault in 1993 and became Benelux champion in 1996. He also participated in rallies, including the Dakar rally, and founded Racing Team Nederland in 2017, which participated in the European Le Mans Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship. In 2019, his team won the 6 Hours of Fuji.[7] In 2021, van Eerd won the FIA WEC championship in the LMP2 Pro/Am category.[8]
Career summary
† As Van Eerd was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
‡ Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.
Remove ads
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads