Global brewer, Heineken has moved decisively to strengthen its digital leadership with the appointment of Romain Apert as Chief Digital & Technology Officer and member of the executive team.

The company confirmed that Apert, who currently serves as Chief Information Officer Petcare at Mars, will take over from Ronald den Elzen, bringing to a close the outgoing executive’s remarkable 31 year journey with the business.

According to the company, the leadership transition reflects its continued push to accelerate technology driven growth across markets. In his reaction, Dolf van den Brink, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO, warmly welcomed the incoming executive, stressing that the organisation deliberately sought a leader with strong global exposure and proven transformation credentials.

Van den Brink stated that Apert arrives with extensive international experience spanning enterprise scale digital transformation, advanced data strategy, and complex technology change programmes across multinational environments.

Again, he added that the new appointee will work closely with the executive leadership to deepen the company’s EverGreen 2030 ambitions by strengthening the digital backbone and unlocking greater value from data and artificial intelligence initiatives.

Furthermore, the CEO emphasised that Apert’s reputation for blending disciplined execution with practical innovation strongly aligns with the company’s culture.

He noted that the leadership team expects the new technology chief to help accelerate cross functional collaboration while also embedding more people focused approaches into the firm’s evolving digital agenda.

Meanwhile, the company also paid tribute to Ronald den Elzen as he prepares to step down after more than three decades of service. Van den Brink described the outgoing executive’s career as exceptional, highlighting his contributions across five countries in Europe and the Americas as well as his impact in six different functional roles.

He stressed that den Elzen’s deep institutional knowledge, strong passion for the business, and widely respected people skills significantly shaped the company’s progress over the past thirty one years. Consequently, he expressed appreciation for the veteran leader’s commitment and extended best wishes for his future pursuits.

With this appointment now confirmed, the brewer is clearly reinforcing its technology leadership bench as it advances its long term digital transformation roadmap.