Heineken CEO Dolf van den Brink steps down amid struggling beer sales — Here's what you need to know

Dutch beer maker, Heineken NV, on Monday, 12 January 2026, announced that the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dolf van den Brink, has resigned from his role after spending six years leading the global giant, according to the press release.

As per the official announcement from Heineken's board, Dolf van den Brink will step down from his position on 31 May 2026.

“I believe this is the right moment to transition leadership as the Company prepares for the next phase of the EverGreen strategy. The past years have been marked by significant change as HEINEKEN progressed through its transformation and has now reached a stage where a transition in leadership will best serve the Company in further executing its long-term ambitions,” said Dolf van den Brink in the official statement.

According to an agency report from Bloomberg, the CEO's resignation move comes months after the beer maker issued a profitability warning amid falling beer sales in the market.

Who will be the new CEO?

Heineken also announced that the company will start a process to find a successor to Dolf van den Brink, and even after stepping down from the role, the executive will remain available as an advisor for an eight-month period starting from 1 June 2026.

“To ensure the Company has full access to Dolf’s industry experience and deep HEINEKEN knowledge, Dolf has agreed to remain available to the Company in an advisory capacity for a period of eight months, starting on 1 June 2026,” the company said.

The company will now focus on the succession process to secure strong leadership for the future.

“The next phase will focus on bringing this strategy to life through disciplined execution of our strategic growth ambitions. With this in mind, the Supervisory Board agrees this is the right moment to start the succession process to secure strong leadership for the future,” said Peter Wennink, Chairman of the Heineken Board.

Heineken's warning

According to the agency report, in October 2025, Heineken warned investors that the annual profit would be lower than expected due to weaker growth in the European and American markets. This is an issue which has affected the global brewing industry for some time as consumer drinking trends shift.

Heineken announced that the expected adjusted operating profit growth in the current fiscal year is anticipated to be lower end of its previously forecast range of 4% to 8%.

The company also reportedly announced that they expect the volumes to fall modestly, too, despite previously saying they would remain stable.

Beer maker Heineken, which also manufactures brands like Tecate and Amstel, said on a capital markets day in October that it planned to focus its growth efforts on 17 key markets and cut investment to some of its brands.

(With agency inputs from Bloomberg.)