By Joshua Kirby

Heineken named JDE Peet's boss Rafael Oliveira as its next chief executive, ending a period of uncertainty at the top of the world's second-largest brewer.

Oliveira is set to take the reins at Heineken from Oct. 1 for a period of four years, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Heineken is currently without a permanent CEO after Dolf van den Brink left at the end of May following six years at the helm of the Amsterdam-listed group.

Oliveira joins after a couple of years as CEO of coffee and tea group JDE Peet's, which was bought by beverage group Keurig Dr Pepper in an $18 billion deal struck last summer. Prior to his stint at the Peet's Coffee maker, Oliveira spent a decade at Kraft Heinz. Following the takeover by KDP, Oliveira was tapped to lead the merged group's combined coffee business, which is set to be listed separately.

That experience "underscores his proven ability to lead complex global enterprises," said Heineken, which is second only to Bud brewer AB InBev in beer sales. The group--whose beer labels include Amstel, Birra Moretti and Desperados as well as its namesake Dutch lager--said its executive leadership team will continue to steer the business in the meantime.

The appointment brings to a close months of speculation after Heineken said at the start of the year that company veteran Van den Brink would be stepping down. His departure from a decadeslong career at the company came after a period of sliding sales. The start of Van den Brink's tenure as CEO coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic that closed bars and restaurants for weeks in many markets. Later, growing health-consciousness and price inflation around the world put heavy pressure on booze sales, dragging sales and share prices at many of the world's biggest distillers and brewers.

Oliveira offers disciplined execution of strategy and strong leadership, Heineken's supervisory-board Chairman Peter Wennink said.

"With Rafa at the helm, we look forward to building on Heineken's strong foundations and continuing our journey of long-term, balanced growth," he said.

Keurig Dr Pepper meanwhile noted that Oliveira will depart at the end of July, and said it was looking for a replacement to lead its coffee business ahead of the split planned for early next year.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 23, 2026 02:58 ET (06:58 GMT)

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