John Nicolson to head Heineken Americas operation

Heineken has announced the appointment of John Nicolson, former Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) Eastern European boss, as head of Heineken's Americas operation.

Nicolson replaces Massimo von Wunster, who has decided to leave Heineken and return to his home country Italy.

Nicolson, who was also head of S&N's US and Asia operations, starts his new role on October 1, 2008.

He will be based in New York and will sit on Heineken's executive committee reporting to Jean-François van Boxmeer, chief executive.

Van Boxmeer thanked von Wunster Massimo for his "valuable and considerable contribution to the growth of our brands and our business", and said he was "delighted" to have secured the services of Nicolson.

"In particular, John's commercial understanding and executional capabilities are well known and respected," he added.

"The combination of this with his relationship and business management skills make him a valuable addition to both the Americas business and our executive committee team."