White Plains-based Heineken USA this week announced leadership changes that are part of a companywide cost-savings effort.
Dolf van den Brink, president and CEO of Heineken USA in White Plains, will become the chief executive of Heineken Mexico on July 1. Ronald den Elzen, managing director of Heineken Portugal, will succeed van den Brink in the U.S. post.
- Ronald den Elzen
- Dolf van den Brink
Brink and Elzen are two of several executives taking on different roles within the global company, Heineken International, which is reorganizing its structure to become more streamlined, according to a company press release. Heineken will regroup international operations to focus on four geographic regions ”“ Europe; Africa Middle East and Eastern Europe; the Americas; and Asia Pacific.
The company said it will combine and eliminate other high-level positions to make decision-making and processes more streamlined and prevent duplication. Heineken officials said the company will announce more changes to meet those goals in the coming months.
“The changes announced today will make us a more agile organization,” Jean-François van Boxmeer, chairman and CEO of Heineken, said in the release on March 31. “Our management structure will be flatter, our operating companies more empowered and our cost of doing business lower.”
Brink, the new CEO of Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma/Heineken Mexico, a subsidiary of Heineken International with brands such as Tecate and Dos Equis, will lead more than 16,000 employees. Heineken officials said in the announcement he will aim to help the company achieve its vision of becoming the leading brewer in Mexico.
Van den Brink has been with Heineken for 17 years. He came to the White Plains headquarters in 2009 after working at Bralima, Heineken”™s operating company in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the announcement, van den Brink improved the American business by restoring top line growth and driving consistent market share gains. Van den Brink, who is Dutch, was named one of Fortune”™s “40 under 40” in 2012 for turning around the business and changing company culture.
In an interview with the Business Journal in April 2013, van den Brink said he replaced the CEO office”™s walls with glass ones, one step in his efforts to make the culture more open. He said when he arrived, the company was losing market share post-recession. During his leadership, he said the company added to its portfolio, breaking the “single brand operation” stigma.
“I”™m incredibly proud of everything Heineken USA has achieved over the last six years. Collectively with our passionate employees and dedicated partners we have become a true portfolio company and created great momentum in the marketplace,” van den Brink said in a statement. “Heineken USA has a tremendous amount of potential, and I believe Ronald is the right person arriving at the right time to lead the acceleration of this business.”
Den Elzen is originally from the Netherlands and has been with Heineken for more than 20 years. He has held positions in finance, sales and general management in Amsterdam, the U.K. and Portugal. According the statement, den Elzen and his team in Portugal grew the top and bottom line.
“The opportunity to join such a dynamic business at this time is truly exciting,” den Elzen said in a statement. “Heineken USA has seen consistent growth through its strong portfolio of upscale brands and has a clearly defined ambition to become the leaders in upscale beer. I look forward to working with Heineken USA”™s leadership team, employees, distributors and partners to ignite future growth.”
