In January, Heineken announced Dolf van den Brink would be stepping down on May 31: initiating a search for his successor.
After four months, no replacement has been announced: leaving the world’s second largest brewer leaderless for the time being.
Difficult times for beer
Heineken is the top brewer in Europe and the #2 in the world.
But it’s difficult times for beer: and the Dutch headquartered brewer has already announced cuts of up to 6,000 jobs over the next two years.
Now the company will continue to navigate the challenges without a leader. How long this will last for is not clear.
“The selection process for Dolf’s successor is progressing well and is expected to be completed in the near term; up until then, any external commentary remains speculative,” said Peter Wennick, chairman of the Heineken Supervisory Board. He did not give any more information on timeline.
The company is clear that no interim CEO appointment is being made, indicating that it may be close to making its choice. Van den Brink, however, will remain on in an ‘advisory capacity’ for the next eight months.
The CEO skillset
Heineken’s next CEO will take on the challenge of leading a global brewer, which has sales in 190 countries.
They’ll also have to balance the legacy of an 150-year-old brewer with the need to cater for modern consumer tastes.
The company is doing so with brews like Heineken Ultimate: a new global label which made its debut in Brazil last week.
The launch marks a new chapter in the company’s innovation strategy by ‘expanding its premium portfolio in line with evolving consumer habits’. The drink comes in at 97 calories (30% fewer than the regular version), a gluten-free formulation, and lower alcohol at 3.5%.
It’s what Heineken calls the drink for consumers seeking ‘alternation, moderation and greater balance in their daily lives... while maintaining the unique and distinctive taste of Heineken’.
But above all, Heineken’s new CEO will have to have a firm grip on the company’s operations and finances. Margin management, cost control and disciplined capital allocation are increasingly important in volatile macroeconomic environments. This is only going to get more difficult under inflation and currency pressures.
And it will also be about finding new ways of working, as AI and digitalisation become an increasingly integral part of the workplace.
Focus on execution
In many ways, Dolf van den Brink has already done a lot of the work in setting the path for the company: with its key priorities already set out.
Heineken's EverGreen 2030 strategy
- Accelerate Growth: winning consistently in key markets, driving strucutral category expansion, sharpening commercial execution.
- Step up productivity: Levering global scale and a disciplined cash focus to free up resources for growth, while building agile, sustainable operations
- Focus future-fit: completing a digital tranformation, focusing sustainability efforts, building a high-performance culture
Alongside with cost-savings, it will focus on key product categories such as premium beer and alcohol-free beer, led by Heineken 0.0, the world’s top alcohol-free brew.
It also wants to make new moves in categories beyond beer: such as cider and canned cocktails.
Analysts like Heineken’s strategy; less so its execution to date. Heineken’s new CEO will be expected to deliver.
CEO shake up
Heineken is not alone in its leadership shake-up.
Henrique Braun became CEO of Coca-Cola in March: with the previous executive vice president and chief operating officer moving into the role in a carefully organised transition. He’s taken over from James Quincey, who stepped down after nine years in the role.
At Constellation Brands, Nicholas Fink has succeeded Bill Newlands as president and CEO, effective April 13. Newlands has retired after serving as president and CEO since 2019.
More dramatic has been the exit of Nestle CEO Laurent Freixe (due to an ‘undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate’), replaced by Philipp Navratil, formerly CEO of Nespresso. And Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami resigned in September (over a drug investigation).
