Rarel Vuursteen's love story:
"Heineken has
magic"
Experts all agree: the world beer
market is changing fast. Big
breweries, increasingly con
fronted with stagnating domestic
markets, are seeking growth via
acquisitions elsewhere in the world.
However strange it may sound at first,
Heineken owes a large part of its
international success to its small
home market.
After gaining some modest inter
national experience in Asia and
Africa, Heineken came to the conclu
sion in the 1970s that it would be
illusory to expect the Dutch beer mar
ket to grow further. More than twenty
years ago, therefore, the company ini
tiated the process which other big
breweries have only started recently:
expansion abroad.
"In fact, the development of both
the brand and the company was
largely attributable to one man. At a
time when everyone in the brewing
industry thought that beer was a
regional product, Mr Heineken saw
that Heineken Beer was a success
in other countries, particularly in
the United States, and drew the
conclusion that 'beer can travel'. The
drive to make the company truly
international was based on the vision
of Mr. Alfred Heineken. With his
vision and his charisma, he is the per
sonification of our company's success.
But those are inborn characteristics of
truly great entrepreneurs. Look at
businessmen like Dreesmann, Ford,
Philips, etc. The ability to communi
cate your vision to other people is
based on charisma, and charisma
breeds success."
He has meanwhile been in the chairman's seat on
the Executive Board for two years but sitting still
is a thing he hates. And the dynamism of the
Chairman is reflected in the company itself.
Since he took over the chairman's gavel, twelve
acquisitions or joint venture agreements have
heen launched by Heineken. An interview with
Rarel Vuursteen.
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN