From coffee to booze: Rafael Oliveira, the new boss of Heineken

Heineken appointed Rafael Oliveira as its new CEO on Tuesday, ending a months-long search for a successor to Dolf van den Brink, who led the world's No.2 brewer for six years since 2020 before he resigned in January.

Oliveira ‌joins from ⁠JDE ⁠Peet's, one of the world's largest coffee companies, where he ​has been CEO since 2024. He is the first executive to ​be appointed from outside Heineken's ranks.

He began his career ​in Brazil in the equity research divisions ⁠at Banco ‌Icatu and Banco BBA-Creditanstalt. From ​2004 to ​2014, he worked at Goldman Sachs ⁠in senior leadership positions.


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Before JDE Peet's, Oliveira spent a decade at The Kraft Heinz Company, rising to President of International Markets, having started as CEO for Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea in 2004.

In November 2024, he was appointed CEO of JDE Peet's. Following ‌Keurig Dr Pepper's acquisition of JDE Peet's, in April 2026 he was appointed to ​lead KDP's ​planned new global ⁠coffee business.

A Brazilian national, Oliveira studied economics at Pontificia Universidade Catolica in Sao Paulo and earned an international MBA ​at the University of Chicago.

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Oliveira will have a lot to prove as a beer industry and company outsider, ING analysts said in a note to investors.