Brewing giant Heineken has appointed James Thompson as its new Chief Commercial Officer, replacing company veteran Jan Derck van Karnebeek.
Thompson, a British national who has previously held senior roles at Avon, Diageo and Unilever, will take join Heineken in “early 2021”. He is currently Head of Categories, Brand, Innovation and Stores at Avon.
Van Karnebeek is leaving Heineken on 1 March 2021 after a career spanning 27 years.
Dolf van den Brink, who was appointed as Heineken’s new CEO in June, commented: “I am delighted by the appointment of James Thompson. He is a very experienced executive with an international perspective on consumer, customer and marketing trends, both in developed and emerging markets.
“James has an excellent track record and a wealth of experience in premium brand building, consumer centricity, innovation and leading multi-category development. Our Executive Team very much looks forward to working with James to further evolve our commercial strategy.”
Heineken also announced today that it has nominated Nitin Paranjpe, Chief Operating Officer of Unilever, to become a member of its supervisory board for a four year term.
Paranjpe has been COO of Unilever since 1 May 2019 and a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive since October 2013. Prior to becoming COO, he led Unilever’s global Food and Refreshment as well as its global Homecare division.
Heineken Chairman Jean-Marc Huët commented: “We are very pleased with Nitin Paranjpe’s nomination. Given Nitin’s successful career and extensive global experience at Unilever, particularly in Asia, he will add valuable FMCG experience to our Supervisory Board.”
