Heineken USA today announced that Maggie Timoney, who currently serves as the CEO and managing director of Heineken Ireland, will take over as CEO of the international beer maker’s U.S. division starting September 1.
With the appointment, Timoney, a U.S. citizen who got her start in the beer business in 1993 as a sales supervisor for New York’s Sound Distributing Corporation, will become the first female CEO at a major U.S. beer company.
“Maggie is a competitive and energetic leader who is known for inspiring teams, operationalizing plans and mobilizing organizations to deliver business results,” Marc Busain, Heineken Americas region president, said via a press release.
Current Heineken CEO Ronald den Elzen, who took over the position in mid-2015, will step down from the U.S. post and return to Holland for a “global role” within Heineken N.V., a press release noted.
In a memo to the company’s business partners, den Elzen thanked Heineken distributors for “laying the groundwork for a positive trend change in the business,” and described his decision to step away from the U.S. business as a “deeply personal” choice.
“It’s been a great privilege and wonderful professional and personal experience; however, the goodbyes are always the most challenging,” he wrote.
So who is Maggie Timoney?
A former Division I basketball standout at Iona College, Timoney worked her way up through Heineken after starting as a national sales planning manager in 1998. She’s served in a variety of roles within the organization over the last 20 years, including strategic planning, global partnerships, and international distribution. She also previously served as the senior vice president of human resources for Heineken USA between 2010 and 2013 before being named CEO of Heineken Ireland.
“She understands the challenges and opportunities that exist within the U.S. market and she has the right mix of strategic vision, people leadership and grit to ignite future growth for Heineken USA,” Busain added, via the release.
The CEO switch-up comes after a number of organizational changes within Heineken USA. The company recently created a sales operations team, led by John Doolan, and named Anthony Labrusciano as its northeast regional vice president.
Additionally, longtime Heineken executive Nuno Teles, who had served as the CMO of the U.S. division for about four years, departed the company for Diageo in February.
A press release with additional details and den Elzen’s note to distributors are below.
HEINEKEN USA APPOINTS MAGGIE TIMONEY AS NEW CEO
White Plains, NY (June 5, 2018) — HEINEKEN USA today announced the appointment of Maggie Timoney as Chief Executive Officer. Timoney, a seasoned executive with over twenty five years of experience in the beer & cider business, will succeed HEINEKEN veteran, Ronald den Elzen, who will be returning to Holland for a global role within HEINEKEN N.V.
Timoney is joining HEINEKEN USA from HEINEKEN Ireland where she’s served as the CEO for the last five years. However, she’s no stranger to the U.S., She joined the HEINEKEN family in 1998 in a national sales planning role for HEINEKEN USA and then held a series of sales, strategic planning and distribution roles in the Netherlands before being named the managing director of HEINEKEN Canada in 2006. She returned to HEINEKEN USA in 2010 as SVP of Human Resources and a member of the management team. Before HEINEKEN, Maggie worked in sales for at E&J Gallo and an Anheuser-Busch Wholesaler in The Bronx.
“Maggie is a competitive and energetic leader who is known for inspiring teams, operationalizing plans and mobilizing organizations to deliver business results,” said Marc Busain, HEINEKEN Americas Region President. “She understands the challenges and opportunities that exist within the U.S. market and she has the right mix of strategic vision, people leadership and grit to ignite future growth for HEINEKEN USA.”
In Timoney’s most recent post as CEO of HEINEKEN Ireland, she over-delivered on volume, revenue, profit and market share targets while accomplishing year over year increases on employee engagement. She’s known for her knack of making the complex simple and her ability to deliver outstanding results through people.
Timoney is a graduate of Iona College and a former college basketball standout. She is moving back to the U.S. with her family this summer and will take the reins of HEINEKEN USA as CEO on September 1st.
HEINEKEN USA is excited to welcome Maggie Timoney and would like to thank Ronald den Elzen for his leadership of the company since 2015. We wish him the best as he begins a new leadership role within the HEINEKEN global company.
A note from Ronald den Elzen
Partners,
Today I have some personal news to share with you. After three years leading this business, I have made the decision to leave the United States and HEINEKEN USA. At the end of the summer, I will return to the Netherlands for my next role with HEINEKEN N.V. I realize this comes as quite a surprise. Decisions like this are never easy and are made based on deeply personal choices. I’ve been with HEINEKEN for over twenty years and have had the opportunity to embark on a global career and work in several Opcos. It’s been a great privilege and wonderful professional and personal experience; however, the goodbyes are always the most challenging.
I’d like to thank you all for your partnership over the last three years. With your collaboration, we’ve introduced new brands with local relevance (and national potential), like Tiger, Prestige, Red Stripe and Moretti to our portfolio. We put more feet on the street to support the expanded portfolio and increase our focus on Excellent Outlet Execution. We’ve launched a new “start-up” mindset for innovations and e-commerce. Campaigns for all brands are now rooted in local consumer insights, and focused on larger social occasions. And because of this, we’ve seen Heineken® Original narrow the performance gap with key competitors and the new Dos Equis “Keep It Interesante” campaign push Dos Equis into the green. It may be a challenging time for the U.S. beer industry, however efforts like these are laying the groundwork for a positive trend change in the business. I have incredible confidence in the strategic direction of HEINEKEN USA, the leaders we have in place and the strong brands within our portfolio. With your continued partnership, we will achieve great long-term success.
Today, I also have the privilege of announcing my successor. As of September 1, Maggie Timoney will be the new CEO of HEINEKEN USA. She will be joining us from Ireland where she’s served as CEO for the past five years. However, she is no stranger to the United States or to HUSA. Maggie joined the HEINEKEN family in 1998 in a national sales planning role right here at HEINEKEN USA. She then held a series of sales, strategic planning and distribution roles in the Netherlands before being named the managing director of HEINEKEN Canada in 2006. She returned to HEINEKEN USA in 2010 as SVP of Human Resources and a member of the management team. She began her career in alcohol beverage working in sales roles at E&J Gallo and an Anheuser-Busch wholesaler in the Bronx. Maggie is a competitive and energetic leader who is known for inspiring teams, operationalizing plans and mobilizing organizations to deliver business results. She understands the challenges and opportunities that exist within the U.S. market and she has the right mix of strategic vision, people leadership and grit to ignite future growth for HEINEKEN USA. During her time in Ireland, the business over-delivered on volume, revenue, profit and market share targets while accomplishing year over year increases on employee engagement. She’s known for her knack of making the complex simple and her ability to deliver outstanding results through people. I have every confidence that she’s exactly the leader HEINEKEN USA needs in this next phase of the journey.
Maggie will move back to the U.S. with her family this summer and will take the reins of HEINEKEN USA on September 1st. Until then, I will ensure there is a smooth transition in leadership so you can all stay laser-focused on the summer selling season.
There will be more time to say goodbyes and hopefully enjoy a crispy Heineken® together. Until then, thank you once again. I wish you all tremendous success in the future both professionally and personally.
Cheers,
RdE