The 2016 Leonardo da Vinci prize has been awarded to Van Oord. Mr A. Aboutaleb, the Mayor of Rotterdam, presented the prestigious international prize for family businesses to CEO Pieter Van Oord, the company said in its press release.
Since 2011, Les Hénokiens, an international association of family businesses older than two hundred years, in collaboration with Château du Clos Lucé in Amboise, has awarded the Leonardo da Vinci prize to a significant family business that is at least two generations old. Furthermore, the criteria for this prize are geared to the vision, as well as the innovation and sustainability agenda of the businesses. Les Hénokiens is based in Paris and has 47 members. These are businesses that are at least two hundred years old and are still owned by the same family as the founder. The most notable member is the Japanese hotel Hoshi, which has been owned since 718 by the same family and is now run by the 47th generation.