Heineken seeks a fresh perspective: shareholders push for an external CEO

Heineken is under pressure from major shareholders to break with the tradition of internal appointments and appoint an external candidate as the new CEO. The sudden departure of Dolf van den Brink at the end of May left the Dutch beer company in a difficult position.

A family business with tradition

Two of the fifteen largest shareholders, First Eagle Investments and Artisan Partners, are openly advocating for an outsider at the helm. Julien Albertini, portfolio manager at First Eagle, sees Van den Brink’s departure as an opportunity for renewal. “My preference would be for someone from outside the company,” he told the Financial Times. His colleague Daniel O’Keefe of Artisan Partners expresses it more skeptically: “We’re doomed to get someone who’s fairly mediocre; that’s the history of the company.”