BIG INTERVIEW: Haarsma – why humility beats hero leadership at Heineken

The Netherlands-born boss believes success for the brewer and operator of Star Pubs in the UK comes from being able to create conditions that allow others to thrive.

Indeed, Haarsma states excellent leadership to him is: “Creating the circumstances where people are willing to go the extra mile for their company and customers, and feel passionate about what they do.”

There are no ‘surprises’ to him any longer having been in managing director roles for more than 20 years and one thing he has learned is to put one’s own direct impact into perspective.

“I studied in the US for a while, doing all kinds of ‘business cases’ about heroic CEOs who turned around companies but, in my own experience, the life of an MD is often different and calls for more humility,” he says. “I believe I can say by now that I know this industry quite well, including the nitty gritty operational detail, but the daily impact – and therefore the business results – is really made by the people in our organisation and through leadership of teams.

“This is also the best way for a large company to stay adaptive. It is really about creating the conditions for others to thrive and lead by example on the values and culture you aim to embed.

“In that context, put your company first, including its stakeholders and employees, and your personal career second. People around you feel it when you do this the other way around and will not put in the same amount of energy and passion into their jobs.”

Best cultural fit

Haarsma was CEO of Heineken’s Russian business and is proud to have been the leading the first major brewer to pull out of the country three months after the war in Ukraine began.

But it was at an emotional cost and it hurt when saying goodbye to 2,000 colleagues in Russia with whom he had worked closely with for more than three years but adds it was the right thing to do for the company.

Going back in time, Haarsma was born and raised in the Netherlands and developed a passion for traveling the world and building consumer brands during his university years. After mandatory military service, he applied to three global companies that could offer him a career in this field and Heineken “felt the best cultural fit and I got the impression they were interested in me rather than the just the job I could do for them”, he reveals.

“Little did I know that 31 years later I would still be working for that same company. It sounds so boring when I say that now but I truly got to live my dream of travelling the world and building brands in an industry that I love. I have lived and worked across four continents – it’s only Asia I’ve seen just as a tourist.”

Family is key for him as well. As a real-life family adventure, Haarsma and his wife have raised three kids, each born in a different country and they have lived in Puerto Rico, Suriname, Nigeria, the Netherlands and Russia before moving to the UK in summer of 2022.

“Family and work do not feel like two different ends of a scale to me,” he states. “I simply could not have done my job if my family wasn’t part of it. ‘Heini’ was one of the first 20 words uttered by our middle one – now a 23-year-old student and a home brewer – because he picked it up in the back seat of our car when we were driving on the roads in Puerto Rico while I was proudly pointing at the Heineken billboards to my wife.

“We have done many things together and we all love to go to pubs and restaurants together. My main personal challenge is to be ‘in the moment’ and to truly disconnect, and my Gen Z kids understand this challenge themselves. Walking from my office to my apartment helps me to clear my mind and make that separation, but I keep working on it.”

The highlights of his career include: “Breaking up a monopoly in Mozambique, a country that until that point was dominated by one of our competitors. And breaking even on a multi-year investment of tens of millions of Euros in innovative beer systems by driving their global implementation – this was with SmartDispense, which is still a part of the business I feel passionate about because it really drives sales and margin for operators while also elevating the experience of the consumer.

Doing it in a prioritised way

While something he will never forget is the stress and anxiousness he felt when taking over the leadership, with his new management team, of a brewery group in Nigeria. He continues: “We had had no opportunity to do any due diligence beforehand but we had to keep it up and running in full compliance with the law and our Code of Conduct.

“I will not pretend I enjoyed these adventures in the moment but, in hindsight, I realise that in these tougher moments you really learn the most.”

In fact, pressure is something faced by business leaders on a regular basis and Haarsma says the UK is one of the most competitive beer markets in the world, with six global brewers and almost 2,000 local brewers and cider-makers.

He adds: “Both grocers and pubs, are mostly consolidated. This means you need to do many things right at the same time: brand building, innovation, customer relationships, strict cost management and disciplined investment, transformation in technology, sustainability and capabilities to remain fit for the future while supporting your people and investing in their development.

“The pressure comes from doing it all, in a prioritised way, with an increasing pace of change, and in an economic environment that is not always conducive to economic growth.”

His final words are on advice – and his words of wisdom for smaller pubs or breweries wanting to grow are: “This market and its consumers are so open to innovation and entertainment. There is plenty of inspiration around you.

“Our industry is a proud bearer of tradition and history but at the same time, it is vibrant because it also attracts entrepreneurs who like to disrupt.

“In my university years, I was already dreaming of HoReCa (hotel, restaurant and catering) concepts that I had seen abroad and that I thought would really smash it in the Netherlands. Had I only had the courage and stamina to do that… now, more than 30 years later, I see everyday examples of pubs and brewers that have done just that. Couple this creativity and entrepreneurship with a disciplined eye on the cash flow and you have a business.”

While for someone wanting to take forward steps in their hospitality career, Haarsma says hospitality and brewing are great places to start because they are people businesses and it is often in interpersonal relationships – and in a fast-moving environment – that you learn the most in an early career.

“Become good at what you do and see whether it fits with your talents and passion,” he begins, “make a difference in your job rather than jumping quickly from role to role, and take a risk.

“Life is full of choices and sometimes you just need to ‘dive’. And if it doesn’t work out, you can always revert course. And finally, if you feel you are insufficiently learning or challenged in your job, raise your hand. I have personally never turned down anyone’s request for more.”