age of business is governed
y strength of brand"
Ray van Schaik takes his leave as Chairman of Executive Board
Ray van Schaik took his leave of
Heineken at the General Meet
ing of Shareholders held on 22
April after more than three decades of
service with the company. Heineken
his first and was to be his only
loyer. But the posts he held with
in Heineken were so varied that there
was no need for him to look around
for another employer.
In 1959, having completed his
study in economics, Mr Van Schaik
wrote a letter to Heine
ken on the off chance
that there might be a job
for him. He was taken on
as the junior assistant in
the export department
and given the job of
visiting the markets 'east
of Athens'. He describes his time at
Export as follows: "Though Export
was not where I learnt my most
important lessons, I feel it did teach
me that there is more to the world
than just Holland and that you must
have the ability to identify with local
conditions. Looking back, I see my
time at Export as an easy-going
period. I was responsible for sales and
for maintaining contacts with agents."
After posts in London and in the
Netherlands as district sales manager,
he was appointed Director, Finance
and Diversification Netherlands in
1970 and a member of the Executive
Board in 1974. Nine years later Mr
Van Schaik became Vice-Chairman
and in 1989 Chairman; an impressive
career.
Modest
People who have worked together
closely with Mr Van Schaik describe
him as a hard worker, always closely
involved with both the business and
his colleagues. Mr Van Schaik is a
modest man, not one who likes to be
prominently in the limelight. "I
believe that it is our company which
has to have a high profile in the
world. The people who work for the
company must have a low profile."
"If we were to neglect the Heineken brand, we
would still have a big brewery but otherwise noth
ing special. Thanks to the Heineken brand we are
one of the world's best known breweries."
Another characteristic that stems
from his modesty is that Mr Van
Schaik was never driven by am
bitions. "I never had the feeling that I
should see the chairmanship as a
crown on my work. I wasn't sitting
waiting for it, as 1 did not fancy being
compared with my predecessor all the
time. Equally, 1 don't think that my
successor ought to be compared with
me."
Mr Van Schaik therefore does not
want to give a character sketch of
Karei Vuursteen. "I wouldn't want to
stick a label on him, as you mustn't
make comparisons between individ
ual personalities. But I'm convinced
that under Mr Vuursteen's leadership
the years ahead will certainly not be
dull."
In perspective
The last four years of his career were
not the easiest. Years in which his
efforts were devoted almost single-
mindedly to Heineken. But still: "It
was an interesting, a highly dynamic
period in which I greatly enjoyed
working together with my collea
gues."
Mr Van Schaik feels his retirement
is in the interest of the company.
"Older people are generally better
able to put things in perspective, to
recognise the relative importance of
things. And they have an understand
ing of social issues like alcohol abuse
and the environment. The younger
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
