Forde to lead Heineken’s UK business

Heineken has today (15 Feb) announced the appointment of David Forde as Managing Director for its UK business he replaces Stefan Orlowski, and will take up the role in May 2013. David will report to Alexis Nasard, President Western Europe and Chief Marketing Officer.
Since April 2009, David, who joined Heineken in 1988, has held the position of Managing Director for Heineken in Ireland and has led the transformation of the business during extremely challenging economic conditions.
Meanwhile the company has also revealed a good set of results with revenue increasing 7.4% to €18.4 billion and an in increase in group beer volumes of 2.8%. Net profit more than doubled to €2.9 billion owing to a non-cash exceptional gain of €1.5 billion, related to revaluation of previously held equity interest in APB and APIPL.
Jean-François van Boxmeer, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Heineken N.V., commented, “2012 has been another year of strong progress for Heineken. Most notably, acquiring full control of Asia Pacific Breweries significantly expanded our exposure to growth markets and extended our business platform in Asia which, along with Africa and Latin America, continued to perform well in 2012. In the U.S., our portfolio strategy is working, combining a turnaround of the Heineken® brand with continued strong growth of the Mexican brand portfolio.”
He continued, “At the same time we managed a challenging market environment in Europe by continuing to invest in brands and deepening our relationships with customers, which resulted in share gains in many key markets. Across the company we have reduced costs and improved operating efficiencies, delivering €196 million of pre-tax savings under our TCM2 programme. The Heineken® brand continued its track record of outperformance, growing ahead of the global beer market and further extending its leadership in the International Premium Segment. The launch of global brands such as Desperados, Strongbow Gold and Sol in new markets, as well as successful innovation such as ‘Radler’, all contributed to top-line growth. Innovation introduced in the market within the last 3 years now represents €1 billion, or 5.3% of revenues. All in all, we generated solid results in a challenging but rewarding year for Heineken. Looking to 2013, we are confident that our strategy will further drive continued top-line growth momentum and improved profitability.”