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we can do amazing
Chief Executive's Q&A
"To me, success
means mobilising the
organisation so that
things together."
Explore further:
Under your leadership, how will
HEINEKEN build on its success?
Where are the opportunities for
HEINEKEN as a growth company?
Why is now the right time to embark
on a more ambitious sustainability and
responsibility agenda?
How does the culture need to evolve
to meet your EverGreen ambitions?
What does success look like to you?
What keeps you up at night?
What's the outlook for HEINEKEN
with EverGreen?
Our business priorities
Regional Review
Brewing a Better World
Heineken N.V.
Annual Report 2020
Introduction
Report of the
Executive Board
Report of the
Supervisory Board
Financial
Statements
Sustainability
Review
Other
Information
Our third priority in responding to COVID-19
was cost. We took quick and decisive measures to
safeguard the continuity of our business. As the
impact of COVID-19 is still being felt, we have kept
up our efforts around cost mitigation and cash
preservation to protect our future.
HEINEKEN is a 156-year-old company. Leading this
company means standing on the shoulders of the
incredible leaders that came before me. While I am
humbled by this remarkable legacy, I know that we
can't rest on the laurels of our past success. It's not
the biggest or strongest that survive, but the most
adaptable. The reason the organisation has thrived
for such a long time is because it has continuously
renewed and revitalised itself. We must increase our
ability to respond and adapt while always staying
true to the values of our company to create a cycle
of permanent renewal. We are at our core a growth
company and we'll always remain hungry to seek out
new opportunities for growth.
We have a solid foundation for growth based on a
strong geographical footprint and powerful brand
portfolio. However, we can do more to be even closer
to our consumers and customers making sure we
deeply understand their needs. We can do more
to stretch and go beyond beer with new drinks.
We need to have a greater focus on productivity to
free up resources and reinvest in growth. We can
be bolder with our technology agenda and tackle
the digitization of our business faster, and with
more urgency.
We completed the first 10 years of our Brewing a
Better World programme in 2020. We've made some
great strides over the last decade and accomplished
a lot but we know we need to do more. As our
responsibility to contribute positively to society
and the environment continues to rise, we're
excited to step-up our ambitions. To ensure our
organisation is unwavering in serving the needs
of all stakeholders, we've added sustainability and
responsibility to our new Green Diamond model,
which is now the guiding principle to measure
company performance.
There is a lot about our culture to be proud of and
a lot of good to nurture. We have a culture of pride
and passion. Ours is a "we" culture; we are very
collaborative. We rank in the top 10% of companies
in terms of organisational health. That said, there
are also areas for improvement, especially in the
EverGreen context. We need to draw upon our
courage to act with greater speed and agility.
We need to dream big and be disciplined in delivery.
We need to tap into the wealth of knowledge
that lies within our organisation and accelerate
collective learning. We can be more externally
focused, more consumer and customer-centric.
We can adapt faster to new opportunities and
challenges as we began doing in 2020. Evolving in
these cultural aspects is something that is already
part of EverGreen.
To me, success means mobilising the organisation
so that we can do amazing things together.
It means embracing our entrepreneurial spirit
while being disciplined around pursuing
productivity and cost-consciousness. It means going
further, faster, by investing in digital capabilities
to meet the needs of our consumers and customers.
It means putting sustainability and responsibility
at the heart of our business to ensure we make
a positive impact on the environment and society.
It means empowering our people to go beyond
what they thought possible and to achieve more
than they could have imagined.
I am concerned for the physical wellbeing and
mental health of our people around the world
who have been and continue to be impacted
by the pandemic and who have lost loved ones
to COVID-19. I also worry for our customers,
especially our on-trade and out-of-home customers
who have also been affected by the crisis and
are suffering.
While navigating the crisis, we are building our
future. EverGreen leverages both our strengths
and new opportunities to chart our next chapter of
growth. We aspire to deliver superior and profitable
growth in a fast changing world. Firmly putting
customers and consumers at the core we aim to
continually enhance and expand our portfolio
and footprint. We are stepping up our focus on
continuous productivity improvements and
raising our environmental and social sustainability
ambitions. All of this gives us confidence that we
will continue to deliver long-term value for all
our stakeholders.
Despite a year of profound impact and transition,
some things remain simple and self-evident.
We are a beer company. More than anything,
we cherish our role in building human connections
and bringing people around the world together
to savour the enjoyment of life. Stay safe and
I hope we're all having beers together at a bar
very soon.
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