Here She Comes- Introducing Heineken’s First Female CEO
One of the main goals of The CWIB Chronicles is to empower our readers so that they have the confidence to chase after their professional dreams, no matter how big they may be. Being a woman in business has always been somewhat of a challenge. This is represented by the fact that, according to Business Insider, there are currently only 25 female Chief Executive Officers (CEO) out of all Fortune 500 companies. Fortunately, there are some pretty spectacular women who have been breaking the glass ceiling and showing us that our dreams are valid. In a new series of articles, The CWIB Chronicles will be highlighting some of these women, starting with the first female CEO of Heineken.
What better way to start with a splash than with our first feature, Maggie Timoney? Timoney rose through the ranks to become CEO in a business where it is even rarer to see a woman in charge, the beer industry. According to the website Bravo Alpha, a study conducted at Auburn University found that only 29% of women represented brewery workers. This statistic may be so low simply because of the fact that over the years, the beer industry has often appealed more to men. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the number of women who are sole founders or owners in the beer industry is only between 2 and 4%, this statistic was pulled from The Guardian.
However, on September 1st of this year, a huge push for more female representation was made when Heineken made Maggie Timoney the first female CEO of one of America’s top five beer producers. As reported by the website Food & Wine, Timoney began with the company in 1998. The Heineken Americas Region President had nothing but great things to say about Timoney when making the announcement. Highlights included, “Maggie is a competitive and energetic leader who is known for inspiring the team,” and “she has the right mix of strategic vision, people leadership and grit to ignite future growth for Heineken USA.”
Timoney has been making great strides her whole career. Her profile on Bloomberg states that at Iona College, she was a huge asset to the women’s basketball team, setting a school career scoring record and is currently a member of the Iona College Sports Hall of Fame. She graduated from Iona College with a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration, and then went on to become the captain of the Irish National Women’s Basketball team. As for her professional career, Timoney began her professional corporate career at Sound Distributing, an Anheuser-Busch wholesaler. After switching over to Heineken, she held many positions including Managing Director of Heineken Ireland Limited, the Chief People Officer of Heineken USA, and finally the Chief Executive Officer.
Let Timoney serve as an example, her competitive drive and desire to excel led her to serve in one of the top positions in all of the beer industry. It is a very impressive feat becoming a CEO in an industry that has been dominated by men all of its existence. Timoney, however, does not let this define her. According to Brewbound, when asked in an interview what “different perspective” she would bring to the beer industry, Timoney said, “I’ll be judged on my results, not on whether I’m a male or female.” We look forward to seeing the success this powerful individual will bring to the Heineken brand.
