Heineken Taps Soft Drink Exec for Top Slot

Heineken nominated Rafael (Rafa) Oliveira as the company’s new Chair of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer. The Supervisory Board will nominate Rafa to be appointed for a period of four years, effective 1 October 2026, at an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on Aug.5.

Rafa will join Heineken from JDE Peet’s N.V., the world’s largest pure-play coffee and tea company, where he has served as CEO since 2024. Following Keurig Dr Pepper’s acquisition of JDE Peet’s, he has been appointed to lead Keurig Dr Pepper’s planned Global Coffee Co. (annual revenue ~US $16 billion), a new publicly traded business combining its coffee operations with JDE Peet’s, underscoring his proven ability to lead complex global enterprisesHeineken said.

A highly accomplished international consumer goods leader, he brings more than two decades of experience in transformational leadership across both developed and emerging markets. At JDE Peet’s (formerly listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange), Rafa sharpened the company’s strategy, and restored focus and profitable growth delivering strong results and significant shareholder value creation.

Prior to JDE Peet’s, Rafa spent a decade at The Kraft Heinz Company, rising to President International Markets and overseeing a US $7+ billion portfolio across Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. In these roles he built a consistent track record of driving compelling and focused strategies, strong operational execution and improving market and financial performance, while reinvigorating and building high-performing teams.