Ho Chi Minh City, 5 August 2024 – HEINEKEN Vietnam today announces the appointment of Wietse Mutters as Managing Director, succeeding Alexander Koch, who will take the position of Managing Director HEINEKEN Italy, effective 1 August 2024.
Wietse Mutters started his career with HEINEKEN in 2008. Since May 2020, he has been the Managing Director of HEINEKEN Italy, where he has successfully increased market share, revenue and operating profit for the company. Mutters has effectively developed HEINEKEN Italy’s product portfolio and introduced multiple innovations to the local market. At the helm of the company, he was instrumental in the transformation of HEINEKEN Italy’s digital strategy and the strengthening of the team’s winning culture.
Prior to leading HEINEKEN Italy, Mutters was Managing Director of BRANA S.A. in Haiti. Before that, he held several senior commercial roles, both in country and at the regional level – in the Netherlands, Macedonia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mutters’ predecessor Alexander Koch meanwhile has closed his 6-year tenure in Vietnam, first as Commercial Director in 2018 and then as Managing Director since 2020. Under Koch’s leadership, HEINEKEN Vietnam has further strengthened its position in the market, with an expanded route to consumers and a broadened product portfolio to better serve Vietnamese drinkers, including game-changing innovations like Heineken® Silver, Bia Viet and Larue Smooth.
During this term, Koch also successfully led the HEINEKEN Vietnam team through some major headwinds, including Covid and the volatility in the business context, out of which the team has shown great resilience and a strong ability to transform to stay ready for a changing future. At the same time, Koch was passionately advancing HEINEKEN Vietnam’s agenda for sustainability and responsibility, which he firmly believes are central to how HEINEKEN Vietnam runs the business.
“I have had the honor of working with a team full of passion, determination, and agility – the driving force behind HEINEKEN Vietnam’s growth from strength to strength. It has been my privilege also to have worked with our partners and customers in a strong win-win relationship, which has been fundamental to HEINEKEN Vietnam’s success over the years,” Koch shares while reflecting on his journey of 6 years in Vietnam. “Toward the future, I am confident that the team will continue to thrive under Mutters’ leadership,” adds Koch.
“I am honored and humbled at the exciting assignment ahead – leading the winning HEINEKEN Vietnam team through the next chapter of growth. Despite the challenges that remain, Vietnam will continue to be a potential and growth market for HEINEKEN,” says Mutters. “I have full confidence in the strength and resilience of the team, and truly look forward to working together with our team and people, our partners and customers as well as the communities we are in to continue creating shared value, prosperity and growth,” reiterates Mutters.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Nguyen Huong Mai
Head of Communications
Heineken Vietnam Brewery Limited Company
Email: nguyenhuong.mai@heineken.com
About HEINEKEN Vietnam
HEINEKEN Vietnam is a successful joint venture between HEINEKEN and SATRA (Saigon Trading Group). The company has a proud history of over 30 years – growing from the first brewery in Ho Chi Minh City in 1991 to 5 nationwide with over 3,000 employees today.
We take Vietnamese people on our growth journey in the country. We are currently creating nearly 250,000 jobs across the value chain, contributing an equivalent of 1.04% of Vietnam’s total GDP to the local economy and are among the country’s top taxpayers.
A relentlessly innovative company, we combine international expertise with the local know-how, and have been delighting Vietnamese consumers with a wide product portfolio for a variety of local tastes and drinking occasions, including Heineken®, Tiger, Larue, BIVINA, Bia Viet, Strongbow and Edelweiss. Many of our beers are innovations made exclusively for Vietnam and by Vietnamese brew masters.
Sustainability and responsibility are the way we do business at HEINEKEN Vietnam. From day one, we have been committed to “Brewing a Better Vietnam”, and for 8 consecutive years 2016 – 2023, we have been recognized by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) among the top 3 most sustainable companies in the manufacturing sector. Currently, the thermal energy used in the brewing process at all 5 of our breweries is coming from biomass, and 100% of the electrical demand in our production is being covered by Energy Attribute Certification (EACs) sourced from certified solar projects in Vietnam. Towards the future, HEINEKEN Vietnam is exploring some bolder renewable electricity solutions, including Direct Power Purchase Agreement (DPPA) and solar energy systems. We are also passionate about advocating responsible consumption and addressing drink driving in Vietnam and have introduced Heineken® 0.0 since 2020 to support the Government’s efforts in this area.
To know more about us, please visit http://heineken-vietnam.com.vn/ and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn
