Heineken has announced that Romain Apert will take up the position of chief digital & technology officer, set to begin in May. 

Succeeding Ronald den Elzen, who was the first in the role, the company highlighted Apert’s expertise in AI as important. 

According to Heineken, Apert has served for over two decades at Mars, where he held global CIO positions across the business. 

Within this, his background includes experience with AI-enabled diagnostics, which were used to lead one of the sector’s most ambitious ERP implementation programmes. 

Ronald den Elzen, meanwhile, will be pursuing new career opportunities, according to the business. 

He first joined Heineken in 1995 as a finance management trainee and has since held a variety of finance roles before taking on the chief digital & technology officer position in 2020. In this role, Elzen laid the foundations in platforms, data and analytics and cyber resilience. 

On the appointment of Apert, Dolf Van den Brink, CEO of Heinken, said: “I am delighted to welcome Romain to the Heineken family. He joins Heineken with deep international experience leading large-scale digital transformation, data and technology strategy and complex change across global businesses.  

“Romain will be partnering across the executive team, advancing Heineken’s EverGreen 2030 strategy through the further deployment of the company’s digital backbone and scaling value from data and AI. He is known for combining operational rigour with practical innovation and a people‑centred leadership style and is an excellent fit with the Heineken culture.”