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Navigating the crisis
while building the future
03
Chief Executive's Q&A
"Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there's been
nothing more important than taking care of our people,
taking care of our customers, taking care of our suppliers
and taking care of our communities."
Can you provide a summary
of the 2020 financial year?
What was the effect of COVID-19
on HEINEKEN and how did the
business respond?
How would you describe your first
months as CEO of HEINEKEN?
Heineken N.V.
Annual Report 2020 Introduction
Report of the
Executive Board
Report of the
Supervisory Board
Financial
Statements
Sustainability
Review
Other
Information
Dolf van den Brink
Chairman Executive Board and CEO
In a year of unprecedented disruption and transition,
our teams rose to the occasion and quickly adapted
while not losing sight of the need to continue
investing for the future. The impact of the pandemic
on our business was amplified by our on-trade and
geographic exposure. We took diligent cost mitigation
actions balanced with continued investment behind
our growth platforms. We gained share in most of our
key operations, a testimony to our ability to adapt and
stay close to our customers and consumers in these
turbulent times. The Heineken® brand was a bright star,
with a continued outstanding performance in Brazil.
I applaud the dedication and resilience of our employees
and their commitment to support each other, our
customers and communities over the past year.
EÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ
The effects of COVID-19 have been felt deeply
across HEINEKEN. Our employees are hurting, our
customers are hurting, and the world is hurting.
We made sure that our response was swift and that
we always kept people at the centre.
Our first priority was, and remains, our employees.
It was critical that they could do their j obs safely,
establish the ability to work from home where possible,
social distance and receive adequate personal protective
equipment. Our global task force meets regularly to
monitor and address employee health and wellbeing.
Second, we stepped up to offer financial support to
our customers and suppliers who were impacted by
the pandemic. Our Back to Bars initiative raised over
€10 million to support 50,000 outlets across 21 countries
and we waived close to €50 million in rental payments.
It's been an honour to follow in the footsteps of
Jean-Prangois van Boxmeer and lead this very special
156-year-old company. My new role brought me
and my family back to the Netherlands after fifteen
years of living abroad in Africa, the U.S., Mexico and
Singapore. It feels good to be back home, especially
in times of crisis.
Since my first day as CEO in June, my focus has been
to "navigate the crisis while building the future".
My priority has been the health and wellbeing of
our people. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,
there's been nothing more important than taking
care of our people, taking care of our customers,
taking care of our suppliers, and taking care of our
communities. There's also been a lot of day-to-day
crisis management, much of which is being led by
our outstanding country managers in 80 operating
companies around the world.
While the pandemic continues to create turbulence,
we're very much focused on ensuring we emerge
stronger from the crisis. Over the past months, we've
welcomed seven new Executive Team members and
together with all our employees around the world,
we've come together in a uniquely HEINEKEN
waybottom-up, inclusive, welcoming all voices
to co-create a new strategy that will ensure we
successfully write our next growth chapter. We call
this programme EverGreen and it will guide us for
many years to come.
