"Frans' retirement will mark the end of an exceptional 35 years of service to our business. In that time, Frans has probably sold more Heineken beer to more customers than anyone else in our company's history," said Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, CEO [image-nocss] and chairman of the Executive Board of Heineken NV. "I want to sincerely thank Frans for his outstanding dedication and leadership through the years. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors."
Van der Minne began his career at Heineken in 1975, in Heineken Netherlands. In 1977, he moved to the Export Group and, for several years, was based in Singapore and Sydney. After an interim period as general manager of the Murphy Brewery in Ireland, he returned to Amsterdam in 1989 as export director. In this role, he brought significant growth and progress not just to the Export Group, but to the entire Heineken organization.
In 2000, van der Minne and his family moved to the United States, where he took the role of president and CEO of Heineken USA. As leader of that business, van der Minne began the relationship with FEMSA to market their portfolio in Americaultimately paving the way for Heineken's pending acquisition of FEMSA's beer business that was announced in January. FEMSA, which is formally known as Fomento Econ amico Mexicano S.A.B., makes Dos Equis and Tecate.
Van der Minne was also instrumental in the decision to develop Heineken Light for the U.S. market.
"The passion, hard work and dedication of Frans Van der Minne created a foundation for the success enjoyed by Heineken USA today," said Dolf van den Brink, president and CEO of Heineken USA. "We are grateful for his many contributions and wish him well as he enters into the next phase of his life's journey."
Van der Minne returned to the Netherlands in 2006, as group HR director and a member of the company's Executive Committee. During his three-year tenure in that role, he helped to expand and strengthen the HR function, introducing an HR dashboard, a global employee "climate" survey and detailed job family models. He will finish his Heineken career as strategic partnership director.
Heineken USA, a major beer importer, is a subsidiary of Heineken International BV. Brands imported into the United States include Heineken Lager, Heineken Light, Amstel Light, Newcastle Brown Ale and Buckler nonalcoholic brew. Heineken USA is also the exclusive U.S. importer for the Tecate, Tecate Light, Dos Equis, Sol, Carta Blanca and Bohemia brands from FEMSA Cerveza of Mexico.
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