Simon de Wit (24 August 1912 – 2 March 1976) was a Dutch

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is di ...

and the chief executive of the supermarket chain

Simon de Wit Albert Heijn is the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands with a market share of 34.8% in 2020. It was founded in 1887, and has been part of Ahold Delhaize since 2016. History The chain was founded on 27 May 1887, when Albert Heijn bou ...

. De Wit was born in 1912 in

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Za ...

. His grandfather, also Simon de Wit, was the founder of the supermarket chain

. His father,

Maarten de Wit Maarten de Wit (30 May 1883 in Wormerveer – 30 March 1955 in Zaandam) was a sailor from the Netherlands who represented his native country at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. De Wit, as crew member on the Dutch 8 Metre ''Hollandia' ...

, represented the Netherlands at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

. De Wit competed at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with the men's coxed four where they came fourth. The same team also competed as a coxed four, with

Gerard Hallie Gerard Hallie (24 October 1911 – 7 July 2002) was a Dutch coxswain. He competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and popu ...

coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boat ...

, and they were eliminated in round one. Four of the five coxed four members remained together and won silver at the

1937 European Rowing Championships The 1937 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships for men held on the Bosbaan in the Dutch city of Amsterdam. The construction of the Bosbaan was an unemployment project, with the forest planted from 1934 onwards and the rowing lake ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. De Wit was also a successful sailor, and was Chef d'équipe of the

Dutch Olympic Sailing Team The Dutch were in most of the Olympic sailing competitions represented by the Dutch Olympic Sailing Team. The selection of the members of the team was done by the Koninklijk Nederlands Watersport Verbond (KNWV) or its predecessor. With the except ...

at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

as well as the country's

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

. He remained Chef d'équipe for the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

and 1960 Games, and was

Chef de Mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, permanent ...

of the Dutch Olympic team at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

. From 1943 to 1964, he was CEO of the family's supermarket chain.

References

1912 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Dutch businesspeople Dutch chief executives in the retail industry Dutch male rowers Dutch sports executives and administrators Olympic rowers of the Netherlands Rowers at the 1936 Summer Olympics People from Zaanstad European Rowing Championships medalists {{Netherlands-rowing-bio-stub