Power
CLUBLIEFDE VAN DE BV NEDERLAND: COR VAN ZADELHOFF
Cor van Zadelhoff is an international real estate entrepreneur who has been the market leader in the Netherlands for over fifty years. His latest purchase is the Slotervaart Hospital in Amsterdam, which can therefore retain its current purpose, social care and welfare.
Text: Jaap de Groot
Image: John van Helvert
You have broadened your club feeling than the others in this report. Your club is Orange. What do you mean?
Cor van Zadelhoff: “For me it is the association with my institution. I'm double Dutch! And Orange belongs to the Netherlands, the country where I live, the country where I live and the country where I pay my taxes. With great respect for the multicultural society, in which the new compatriots do not behave like outsiders, but can bring their beautiful customs and traditions with them. Of course, with one hundred percent respect for Dutch culture, including by mastering the Dutch language as quickly as possible. Sport serves as an example in this regard. There is no difference in the Dutch national team, the Dutch team is one team.”
When did that special Orange feeling arise?
“That started in 1968 with the establishment of my own real estate agency in response to the emerging trend in the Netherlands to engage foreign real estate agents, and the English in particular. I have no problem at all with someone being better, but not with the preference being based on an image. Moreover, the English did not have to adhere to the ethical and strict Dutch (tariff) rules, which did apply to me and limited my freedom of movement in business. It was my honor that there would be a foreign market leader in my industry in the Netherlands. That's why I started following the same line as the British, so for example I no longer adhered to the prescribed tariff rules, which I already thought were nonsense at the time. I am proud that I have ultimately managed to be the market leader in our country for fifty years. That I have shown that we Dutch also have what it takes. It is striking that in the same period this also happened through sports. Footballers, skaters and Olympians competed with the world's top in the late 1974s and with success. With of course the World Cup in XNUMX as the icing on the cake, when the whole of the Netherlands turned orange for the first time.”
What does the Orange Shirt make for you?
Cor van Zadelhoff: “It is a feeling that arises unconsciously. You don't have to like hockey, swimming or football to get that feeling. Created by Dutch people who achieved something very special, for example at the Olympic Games. Being very proud of someone like Johan Cruijff, even though he plays for Barcelona. Because he is Dutch. That is why ING belongs on the shirt of the Dutch national team and not a foreign company. As a supervisory board member of the bank, you do not have to love football to realize that the PR power and appearance of a successful Dutch team is unparalleled. In this way, the bank helps football and football helps the bank. The whole of the Netherlands benefits from this.”
What is your most cherished moment with Oranje?
“Of course there are countless matches by the Dutch national team and unique performances by our Olympians, but I keep my most precious moment close to myself. That was in 2017 when my Frisian horse Tjebbe 500 became champion stallion of the Netherlands. A Dutch champion who was not bred in Friesland, but in Breukelen. That gave me a very special feeling. After all, a 'Friesian' is a unique native horse breed. Winning that title was therefore a really special moment.”
