HEINEKEN UK and Beavertown Brewery today announce a series of senior leadership changes. The appointments reflect the company’s continued focus on delivering sustainable growth, strengthening customer partnerships, and supporting the next phase of development for Beavertown.
Will Rice appointed Managing Director, Beavertown
Will Rice, currently On-Trade Sales Director at HEINEKEN UK, will become Managing Director for Beavertown. In his new role, he will ignite and lead the next phase of growth for Beavertown, underpinned by the continued success of Neck Oil as it continues its strong trajectory, and by a strong pipeline of innovation that stays true to Beavertown’s credentials. Beavertown will continue to operate as a separate company, with its own unique identity.
Will brings broad commercial experience from across the HEINEKEN business, including leadership roles in Off-Trade, Star Pubs and On-Trade. Under his leadership, the On-Trade team have grown market share, were rated the best supplier by major customers for two consecutive years (No. 1 in Advantage score) and achieved record Net Promoter Scores in the independent free-trade.
Jochen Van Esch to return to HEINEKEN Group
After 3.5 years as Managing Director of Beavertown Brewery, Jochen will step down and return to HEINEKEN Group. Prior to leading Beavertown, he spent five years within HEINEKEN UK building the craft brewery business and helping shape the partnership between Beavertown and HEINEKEN. Together with his team, he has scaled the business with its own distinct brand, culture and operating model.
Jochen and his team have built strong partnerships with customers in On and Off-Trade. He supported the construction of the Beavertown Brewery in Enfield, London, now one of Europe’s most advanced, state of the art craft breweries, enabling both innovation and scaling. He has also led a strong pipeline of innovation aligned with the unique positioning Beavertown is known for.
Mick Howard appointed On-Trade Sales Director, HEINEKEN UK
Mick Howard, currently Operations Director for Star Pubs, will become On-Trade Sales Director for HEINEKEN UK. Mick steps into the role after making a significant contribution to the Star Pubs business, including playing a leading role in the Punch acquisition and, as part of the Star Leadership Team, helping to shape the business into what it is today. In his new role, Mick will focus on delivering profitable growth and driving strong execution of HEINEKEN UK’s On-Trade strategy.
Over his career with Star Pubs, Mick has delivered strong results by building a performance culture through operational focus and high engagement. He has been instrumental in the success of the managed arm of Star Pubs, Just Add Talent, boosting total and individual pub performance.
Boudewijn Haarsma, Managing Director, HEINEKEN UK, said: “These moves reflect our focus on putting proven, high-impact leaders where they can make the biggest difference for customers and growth. Will has an outstanding track record in the On-Trade, and he is the right leader to guide Beavertown through its next phase of growth, while it continues to operate as a separate company with its own distinctive identity.
“Mick has been instrumental in shaping Star Pubs and is a proven operator and people leader. I’m delighted to welcome him into the On-Trade Sales Director role as we continue to execute our winning strategy. His deep understanding of running pubs will help him to lead our team in being a value adding business partner for our customers.
“I also want to thank Jochen for the legacy he leaves at Beavertown, from building brand leadership in UK craft to progressing the Enfield brewery. We wish him every success as he moves to HEINEKEN Group.”
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