Heineken Ireland has announced the appointment of Sharon Walsh as its new managing director.
Currently, Walsh serves as the commercial director of Heineken Ireland. She will succeed Maarten Schuurman in the role.
Schuurman will step in as the managing director of Heineken’s East and West Africa region from 1 April 2023.
In his new role, he will be responsible for the brewer's operating companies in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, Mozambique and a joint venture business in Dubai.
Commenting on Walsh's appointment, Schuurman said that while he was sad to be leaving the Heineken Ireland after four years to take up another role in the group, he could not have wished for a better successor.
"Sharon has been a fantastic member of the management team for many years, and I wish her every success in her new role as managing director," he said.
"Sharon’s broad business knowledge, leadership, creative drive, and competitive spirit will be of great value to drive the next chapter of sustainable and responsible growth at Heineken Ireland.”
An Experienced Professional
Walsh held a number of senior roles within Heineken Ireland and across the brewer’s global operations over the past 11 years.
In 2011, she joined Heineken Ireland as marketing director and led the company's move into the cider sector and an expansion of its overall brand portfolio.
The positive response to the launch of Orchard Thieves cider in Ireland led to a roll out of the brand in many other countries across the world.
In 2016, she was appointed global cider director of Heineken and worked at its headquarters in Amsterdam.
She was instrumental in designing a clear business strategy, new innovations and variety of flavours and tastes, thereby consolidating Heineken’s global leadership in cider.
In 2020, she returned to Ireland as commercial director and steered the sales division through a phase that saw some of the longest and toughest COVID-19 closures in the hospitality sector in Europe.
Pandemic-Related Support
She played a key role in delivering €19 million worth of pandemic-related support for the hospitality sector, as Heineken took back hundreds of thousands of kegs of its lager, cider, and stout brands free of charge.
It also implemented a host of support measures to stimulate the recovery of the hospitality sector.
Under her leadership, the company introduced a new e-business to business platform, Smart Pub, which is now one of the preferred ordering platforms in the industry in Ireland.
Before Heineken, Walsh worked in marketing roles in UDV, Diageo and Coca-Cola.
Walsh holds a degree and higher diploma in hotel and catering management, and a Master’s Degree in strategic international marketing from DCU, Ireland.
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest drinks news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
