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    Refreshingly authentic: HEINEKEN chief says it’s vital just to be yourself

    10 December 2024 • by Jean-François Manzoni in CEO Dialogue Series

    Dolf van den Brink, CEO of HEINEKEN talks to Jean-François Manzoni about early influences in his career that have helped him excel as a leader....

    Early in his career, Dolf van den Brink, CEO of HEINEKEN since 2020, did everything he could to project an image of authority – including wearing spectacles he didn’t need. It wasn’t until he learned to be comfortable in his skin that he began to excel as a leader, he tells Jean-François Manzoni.

    If we don't bring our employees along in the world, if they're anxious or feel disempowered, nothing good will come from that. At the same time, we should not be naive about the competitiveness of Europe in a changing global world order.

    In 1873, less than a decade after taking over a brewery on Amsterdam’s canals, Gerard Heineken expanded to the port city of Rotterdam, laying the foundations for a global company. Just as a far-flung maritime presence had underpinned the Dutch Global Age, Heineken had the foresight that would turn his beer into a worldwide brand.

    Today, a blend of locally empowered operations combined with global reach is the recipe behind the Dutch brewer’s 160-year success story. As the world’s second-largest beer company, Heineken operates more than 160 breweries, producing 25 billion liters of beer annually – enough to fill 10,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools – which it sells in over 190 markets.

    Mirroring HEINEKEN’s global nature, Chief Executive Dolf van den Brink rose through the ranks – and carved out his own distinct leadership style – through a series of diverse international assignments. Aged 32, he left the Netherlands to become the commercial director in the Democratic Republic of Congo, leading a team of 750 people – a role that not only gave him a chance to run his own P&L account but also nurtured the entrepreneurial spirit that drives HEINEKEN’s culture. The experience became a defining episode in his leadership journey.

    Before stepping into the role, several people had advised him to assert his authority early on, some even suggesting he should fire a few people to be taken seriously. Conscious of his youthful appearance, van den Brink wore a suit that felt unnatural and glasses he didn’t need, hoping to look older. Six months in, however, he was drained. He confessed to his wife Sylvia that he didn’t think he could keep going.

    “She looked at me and said, ‘You know what? Start by taking those damn glasses off. They really don’t look good on you. Just be Dolf, do your thing.’ It sounds so trivial, but it was the little kick up the behind I needed,” recalls Van den Brink. “I took off the glasses, I took off the suit, I told people to call me by my first name. I just started to follow my intuition.”

    Raised in a family where a lively debate was a staple of the dinner table, van den Brink learned early that intellectual dominance was a social survival mechanism.

    Define your authenticity

    Van den Brink believes much of the dysfunction in business arises when people try to act against their true nature. He’s observed cultures where leaders feel pressured to appear strong and tough, even if it doesn’t align with their core selves. “That creates a distortion in how you show up and how you lead people, and people feel it. I wish everyone could figure out early in life what works for them and what doesn’t.”

    Raised in a family where a lively debate was a staple of the dinner table, van den Brink learned early that intellectual dominance was a social survival mechanism. But, as he advanced in his career, he realized that this instinct could backfire, pushing people to simply follow orders rather than foster real collaboration. “What I love about the art of leadership and the art of self-development is that you’re never done,” he says. I aspire to be a 90-year-old man – if it’s given to be that old – and still learning, still peeling back other elements.”

    Now 51, he credits his four years in Kinshasa for helping him discover what makes him “tick” as a leader and how to engage and connect meaningfully with others. Leading teams by providing direction and clarity and building self-confidence, especially when they feel “a little lost in the forest”, became his guiding purpose – one that has continued to drive him even as his responsibilities have grown.

    “He wanted to help bridge this divide by advocating for business leaders to find a voice in addressing societal challenges.”

    Taking a stand

    Returning to the Netherlands to become CEO after 15 years abroad, van den Brink was struck by the negativity and polarization in the national narrative, contrasting sharply with his view of the country’s beauty and potential. As CEO of a major Dutch-rooted company, he felt a responsibility to address this sentiment rather than ignore it. Reflecting on the impact of globalization, he recognized that, while it benefited global companies like Heineken, many in society – especially the less-advantaged workforce facing job insecurity and wage stagnation – felt left behind.

    He wanted to help bridge this divide by advocating for business leaders to find a voice in addressing societal challenges. “If we don’t bring our employees along in the world, if they’re anxious or feel disempowered, nothing good will come from that. At the same time, we should not be naive about the competitiveness of Europe in a changing global world order.”

    He believes businesses must engage thoughtfully in the conversation. “It’s always dangerous when business gets political. That’s not the intent. But I do believe we need to re-find our voice as business,” he says, calling on other leaders to speak up about the importance of economic competitiveness, entrepreneurship, and a secure future for their workforce.

    His strong sense of purpose stems from a weekend spent with his father when he was dying from a brain tumor. Van den Brink, who studied the unusual combination of business and philosophy, asked his father “every question I could imagine, including ‘what’s your purpose?’”

    “He said to me, ‘Dear Dolf, it’s to make the world a little bit better, but to work hard for it because it doesn’t happen automatically.’” His father died a few weeks later, but that conversation became a turning point in van den Brink’s career, helping him to move beyond just the need to excel and prove himself, to working for a purpose.

    Today, van den Brink is driven by a desire to care for his employees, help them solve problems, remove obstacles, and empower them. “The greatest gift you can give your people is the gift of self-respect and self-confidence. And when you do that, teams will pay you back 20-fold. They can move mountains; they can change the world.”

    Being publicly listed but still controlled by the fifth generation of the Heineken family helps.

    In the footsteps of an iconic leader

    Van den Brink went on to run HEINEKEN’s US and Mexican markets, later becoming president of the Asia Pacific region before assuming the roles of CEO and Chair in 2020. He succeeded Jean-François van Boxmeer, who over his 15-year tenure more than doubled the size of the Dutch brewer through a string of strategic acquisitions in emerging markets.

    Stepping into the shoes of such a formidable predecessor might have been daunting, but he had other preoccupations. When he became CEO in June 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced bars and restaurants to close, halted travel, and sent beer sales plummeting. “I didn’t have a spare second to dwell on any of those concerns,” he recalls. “I just had to give it everything to keep the company afloat. The entire board was saying, ‘This is unprecedented; we all need to support the executive team.’ In a way, that made it easier.”

    In 2021, van den Brink unveiled HEINEKEN’s EverGreen strategy – a multiyear plan designed to turn the brewer – which also owns the brands Amstel, Tiger, and Desperados – into a highly adaptive organization capable of thriving in a dynamic environment while at the same creating long-term sustainable value for shareholders.

    “It’s not just about maximizing profit,” he explains. “It’s about serving your customers, taking care of your employees over time, and sustaining the continuity of the company.” Being publicly listed but still controlled by the fifth generation of the Heineken family helps. “It is this notion of, ‘Am I going to leave this company in the hands of my successors better than I found it?'”

    Watch the full video interview with Dolf van den Brink to find out why he put 25% of the company’s marketing budget behind a non-alcoholic beer that makes up less than 5% of sales, how he strives to help HEINEKEN leverage its size while remaining fast and agile, and his three key insights to maintain himself at peak performance.

    Expert

    Dolf van den Brink

    Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Heineken NV

    Dolf van den Brink was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of HEINEKEN NV in 2020. He joined the company in 1998 as a commercial management trainee.  He later worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the USA, Mexico and Singapore. A native of The Netherlands, he attended the Advanced Management Program at Wharton, University of Pennsylvania, and has an MA in philosophy and an MSc in business administration from the University of Groningen. 

    Authors

    Jean-François Manzoni

    Jean-François Manzoni

    Professor of Leadership and Organizational Development at IMD

    Jean-François Manzoni is Professor of Leadership and Organizational Development at IMD, where he served as President and Nestlé Chaired Professor of Leadership and Organizational Development from 2017 to 2024. His research, teaching, and consulting activities are focused on leadership, the development of high-performance organizations and corporate governance. In recent years he has been concentrating increasingly on ways to ensure leadership programs have lasting impact, particularly through the use of technology-mediated approaches.

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