Brewing a Better World? - CEO Heineken

On the 23rd of January Jean-Francois van Boxmeer (CEO Heineken NV) joined Room for Discussion for an interview. Van Boxmeer (55) works for Heineken since 1984. Before he was appointed CEO of Heineken NV in 2005, he worked abroad in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Poland and Italy. He started as a trainee and is now CEO. What path did he take towards his role as CEO? Is it really true that Africa is the training ground for high level management within Heineken? Which hurdles did he overcome and would he have done anything differently? In 2010, Heineken launched a long-term approach called 'Brewing a Better World' with the aim to create shared and sustainable value for their business and stakeholders. This includes projects to reduce CO2 emissions, protecting water resources and advocating responsible consumption. How does Heineken view its CSR projects? How will it go forward tackling ethical dilemmas and what does it want to reach with these projects? On the flip side, the book 'Heineken in Africa’ by Olivier van Beemen (Liza Scherpenzeel Prijs for international journalism) addressed Heineken's possible connections with human rights violations and corruption in Africa. What is Heineken’s perspective? How does one make good business decisions in a booming and war torn continent like Africa? The global beer market is booming and big players are acquiring each other. How will Heineken remain competitive against the recently merged beer goliath AB Inbev and SAB Miller? What is Van Boxmeer’s vision on this market and upcoming trend