"In summer this part of the coast
is filled with Germans and Austrians.
You can hear people speaking
German all around you."
Decision
ITALIA!
Heineken Italia performed well in 2004, maintaining its
leadership in a very competitive market. The World of Heineken
visited the head office of Heineken Italia in Milan to find out the
reasons for this success.
Two hundred people work in a modern office building on the outskirts of
Milan; the sense of eagerness for success is palatable. Heineken Italia
employees are presently led by the charismatic Massimo von Wunster, a
manager who drives himself as hard as he drives his employees to succeed.
But not for long: come September Wunster will move from Milan to New
York to become one of the five Regional Presidents of Heineken,
responsible for all Heineken activities in the Americas. Moving to New York
is a major change and one that makes him feel both sad and excited. "It is
sad to leave my relatives and friends from both inside and outside
Heineken Italia. But at the same time it is a fascinating new challenge."
Unavoidably, a talk with Massimo von Wunster about the successes of
the Italian operation becomes a retrospective of his company career.
Looking back at ten years with Heineken Italia, Von Wunster concludes that
the company has turned into a healthy, profitable business that is
constantly willing to embrace change. "Nowadays Italy is a difficult country.
Everybody wants to maintain the present situation, to keep the old ways of
working. Not very many people in Italy are looking for new opportunities.
So you could say that Heineken Italia is not a typically Italian company."
The foundation for the present success was laid in the mid-nineties. In 1995
Heineken Italia bought Interbrew Italia, followed one year later by the
acquisition of Birra Moretti. At that moment, the Executive Board of
Heineken made what Von Wunster describes as 'the important decision' to
appoint Pietro Perron as managing director. Perron appointed Massimo von
Wunster as Marketing and Sales Director. "Together with a newly formed
management team we started a huge restructuring of the company, trying
to merge three companies and to combine the strong points from each
company. Ultimately the restructuring operation resulted in market
leadership."
According to Von Wunster the first priority of the new management
team was to create an atmosphere in which people could work together
and become fully aware of the new company's goals and vision. Clear
communication, combined with the message from the top that it was a
merger of companies and not a colonisation and, last but not least an
eager, young management team made it all happen for Heineken Italia.
The success that Perron had booked in Italy made the Heineken Board
decide to appoint him managing director of Heineken Espana after the
acquisition of Cruzcampo. He was asked to apply the same success formula
to Spain. Massimo von Wunster was appointed Managing Director of
Heineken Italia and continued what Perron had started.
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