Heineken today announced the appointments of Søren Hagh as President of the Europe region and Jacco van der Linden as President of the Asia Pacific region. Both will take office on June 1, 2020 and will join the Heineken executive team.
Søren Hagh will succeed Stefan Orlowski who decided to leave the company after 22 years to pursue his private entrepreneurial interests outside the company (inside.beer, 04.03.2020). Soren Hagh is at present Managing Director of Heineken Italy and previously was Heineken's Executive Director Global Marketing. He joined Heineken in 2013 and prior to that, he held a number of senior management positions at Lego, Diageo and L'Oréal, including General Manager EMEA for Lancôme. According to a press release, Søren Hagh will work closely with his successor to help Heineken Italy through the COVID-19 crisis.
Jacco van der Linden will succeed Dolf van den Brink, who is currently Regional President for Asia Pacific and who is nominated to be appointed as member of the Executive Board at the upcoming company's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. In his new role, Dolf van Brink will succeed Jean-François van Boxmeer as Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO on 1 June 2020 (inside.beer, 11.2.2020).
Jacco van der Linden is currently Managing Director of Heineken Vietnam and previously was Managing Director of Heineken China. He joined Heineken in 1999 and has held a number of senior international leadership roles in Commerce, in the UK, Nigeria, the Netherlands and Ireland.
Jean-François van Boxmeer, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO, commented: "Obviously, the key focus for us is on running the company through the current unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. With our first priority the health and well-being of our people. At the same time, we are preparing for the future with these appointments. I am very pleased with Dolf's choice of Søren Hagh leading our Europe region, and Jacco van der Linden leading our Asia Pacific region, per 1 June 2020. I want to express again my gratitude to Stefan Orlowski for his 22 years of great service to our company. He will leave Heineken with our genuine thanks and best wishes for the future. Søren and Jacco have an outstanding track record delivering strong business results, and they both have great leadership, people and commercial skills. We are confident that Søren and Jacco will be very valuable in our Executive Team, and in leading the business and respective teams in their regions."
Alexander Koch, currently Commercial Director of Heineken Vietnam, will succeed Jacco van der Linden as Managing Director Heineken Vietnam per 1 June 2020. Prior to Koch's current position, he was Managing Director Heineken Ivory Coast. Alexander Koch joined Heineken as a Commercial Management Trainee in 1997.
Wietse Mutters, until recently Managing Director of BRANA S.A., Heineken's operating company in Haiti, will succeed Søren Hagh as Managing Director of Heineken Italy as of May 1 2020. Prior to Mutters' position in Haiti he worked for Heineken in Macedonia, Nigeria, the Netherlands and DRC. Wietse Mutters joined Heineken in 2008, as Project Manager at Brasseries de Bourbon, Reunion Island.
