19 HEINEKEN N.V. ANNUAL REPORT 2008 For more information regarding our policies and objectives in this area, please see our 2008 Sustainability Report that will be published in April 2009. This report will also be available on our website (www.heinekeninternational.com). Personnel and organisation Our employees are our most important asset and we dedicate significant amounts of time and resources to their growth, development and well-being. In our 2007-2010 HR plan we outline four key goals: Ensure we have the right people at the right time in the right job Create a culture that drives performance Implement reliable HR services Build the role of HR in ensuring personnel expense is correctly budgeted and spent throughout the Company. In 2008 we continued our journey towards these goals by building upon the existing management, leadership and reward systems in place throughout our organisation. We also launched several new HR initiatives, including the HR Performance Accelerator, which enables us to identify HR improvement opportunities and fully align our HR practices with the business requirements of our various operations. This initiative was successfully implemented in selected markets, and in 2009 will be rolled out to other regions. We also established a Senior HR Leadership programme, which aims to accelerate the development of selected HR employees. It is clear the leadership and talent development programmes are bearing fruit. In 2008 we were able to identify more emerging professional and leadership talents than in previous years. In 2008 we also further developed our organisational Climate Accelerator Climate Reporting Tool. Both are online tools for managers in operating companies to help them put the outcome of their bi-annual Organisational Climate Survey into action in order to actually improve their working climate. Geographic distribution of personnel In numbers Western Europe 21,362* Head office 854 Central and Eastern Europe 20,390 Americas 1,956 Africa and the Middle East 10,667 Asia Pacific 979 In the Netherlands 3,971 With the aid of our HR dashboard we established a full understanding of the development of HR costs and time spend. In addition, the Heineken University successfully upgraded our Development Programmes for management and senior employees. In 2009 we will continue to focus on developing and achieving our four goals, with the aim of reaching HR excellence. We will also continue to create awareness of the importance of road safety, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. In addition, special attention will be paid to the promotion of healthy living. In 2008, the average number of employees increased from 46,439 to 56,208.

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