By Emma Rumney
June 23 (Reuters) – Heineken appointed Rafael Oliveira as its new chair and CEO on Tuesday, the first time the Dutch brewer has appointed an outsider to the top job, as alcohol makers seek to galvanise sales through leadership change.
Oliveira has been the CEO of Dutch coffee and tea maker JDE Peet’s since 2024. He will join Heineken, the world’s No. 2 brewer, for four years from October 1, the company said, adding it expects him to accelerate its existing 2030 strategy.
“After a rigorous global search, the supervisory board unanimously chose Rafa for his unique mix of strategic vision, operational expertise, and financial acumen,” Heineken said.
Heineken’s shares rose 3%, outperforming the broader market and touching their highest level since March.
Uncertainty over who will lead the maker of Tiger and Sol alongside its namesake lager has weighed on the company’s shares.
Previous CEO Dolf van den Brink, who led Heineken for six years, announced his surprise resignation in January and the company has been without a CEO since the start of June.
NEW CEO HAS TO INJECT FRESH ENERGY
Van den Brink’s departure was one of several across the consumer goods industry over the last year, including at major drinks peers Diageo and Remy Cointreau, where hiring committees and investors have turned to external candidates in the hope they can inject fresh energy.
Oliveira will have the task of leading Heineken through a plan to cut 6,000 jobs, to revive sales volumes despite a forecast decline in global beer demand and to catch up with rival Anheuser-Busch InBev’s investor returns.
The challenge is greater given the entire industry is contending with soaring costs of living, changing drinking habits and worries about alcohol’s health effects, as well as emerging threats such as weightloss drugs that may impact drinking.
In a statement, Oliveira said Heineken’s 2030 strategy, under which the brewer has promised to deliver higher growth with fewer resources, was a powerful platform for the future.
“I am confident we will accelerate growth, drive productivity and future-fit Heineken, winning the hearts of consumers worldwide,” he said.
Heineken said Oliveira had two decades of experience across both developed and emerging markets and a track record of driving focused strategies and improved performance.
Prior to JDE Peet’s, he served as president of international markets at Kraft Heinz.
STRONG BACKGROUND IN CONSUMER GOODS, NOT ALCOHOL
Analysts said that as well as a strong background in consumer goods he also had earlier experience in capital markets, giving him an edge as he looks to deliver returns for some dissatisfied Heineken investors.
In just 17 months at JDE Peet’s, Oliveira “demonstrated a clear ability to diagnose and reset strategy rapidly”, Laurence Whyatt, analyst at Barclays, said.
Following its takeover of JDE Peet’s, Keurig Dr Pepper appointed Oliveira to lead its planned new global coffee business in April.
The company plans to break itself into two U.S.-listed companies: one for beverages and one for coffee, and wanted him to take the helm.
In a statement issued by KDP on Tuesday, Oliveira said it had been a difficult decision to leave Keurig.
Oliveira, however, lacks experience in navigating the specific dynamics of the beer and alcohol industry, which some analysts say is a risk.
“As a beer industry and Heineken outsider, he will have a lot to prove,” analysts at ING wrote in a note.
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk and Emma Rumney in London; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Barbara Lewis)
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