Heineken chose Rafael Oliveira as its next CEO on Tuesday, marking the first time the Dutch brewer has appointed an outsider to lead the company.
Oliveira, 51, will join Heineken on Oct. 1 for a four-year term, pending shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting set for Aug. 5, the company said. He will step down from his current role as CEO of JDE Peet's, the coffee and tea company acquired by Keurig Dr Pepper $DPS in April.
The appointment ends months of uncertainty at the world's second-largest brewer. Dolf van den Brink, a company veteran of more than 28 years who served as CEO for six of them, announced in January that he would step down; he exited the role at the end of May. Heineken's executive team has been running the business since then.
Oliveira joined JDE Peet's as CEO in November 2024. Following Keurig Dr Pepper's acquisition of the company, he was also appointed in April to lead KDP's planned global coffee business, which is set to be listed as a standalone public company. Keurig Dr Pepper said Tuesday it has begun searching for a replacement to lead that unit, according to The Wall Street Journal.
At Kraft Heinz $KHC, where he worked for roughly ten years before joining JDE Peet's, Oliveira climbed to the position of president of international markets and managed a portfolio with revenues exceeding $7 billion that stretched across Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, the company said. His earlier career included a decade at Goldman Sachs $GS, where his roles spanned the securities division in the UK and an executive director post within the emerging markets unit in Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg.
Following a worldwide search, Heineken's supervisory board said it settled on Oliveira unanimously, citing his combination of strategic thinking, hands-on operational experience, and financial acumen as the deciding factors. Supervisory board chairman Peter Wennink said in a statement that Oliveira's ability to translate strategy into disciplined execution and his people leadership were qualities needed for the role.
"I am honoured and excited to join HEINEKEN," Oliveira said in a statement. "I am confident we will accelerate growth, drive productivity and future-fit HEINEKEN, winning the hearts of consumers worldwide."
The incoming CEO inherits a company navigating significant headwinds: beer volumes have been declining, an ongoing restructuring program is eliminating close to 7% of the global headcount, and the wider industry faces mounting strain from shifts in how consumers drink and the squeeze of elevated living costs. Heineken stock rose as much as 3.2% in Amsterdam following the announcement.
Not everyone is convinced the appointment is without risk. Analysts at ING pointed to his absence of any background in beer or alcohol as a potential liability, writing that Oliveira enters the role with much still to prove, according to Reuters.