How a 160-Year-Old Startup Uses AI: The Heineken Company’s Ronald den Elzen

What this episode covers

After trying his luck at the stock market, Ronald den Elzen, pursued a career in technology leadership instead. Today, as the chief technology and digital officer of The Heineken Company, he encourages his team to think about the legacy beverage company as a 160-year-old startup with global scale, operating with multiple brands in more than 80 markets. When members of his team can work with agility and less fear of making mistakes, he finds they are more successful at rolling out new technology initiatives. Heineken uses AI extensively in areas including revenue management, promotional optimization, and logistics, but Ronald believes much value still comes from traditional AI — such as predictive analytics and machine learning models — rather than chasing the latest trends like generative AI (GenAI). Heineken is focused on using these foundational tools to drive tangible. Read the episode transcript here. Guest bio: Ronald den Elzen, chief digital and technology officer at The Heineken Company, has been with the international brewer since 1996. He previously held roles in data and transformation and served as the CEO of Heineken USA. Den Elzen lives in the Netherlands. Me, Myself, and AI is a collaborative podcast from MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group and is hosted by Sam Ransbotham and Shervin Khodabandeh. Our engineer is David Lishansky, and the coordinating producers are Allison Ryder and Alanna Hooper. Stay in touch with us by joining our LinkedIn group, AI for Leaders at mitsmr.com/AIforLeaders or by following Me, Myself, and AI on LinkedIn. We encourage you to rate and review our show. Your comments may be used in Me, Myself, and AI materials.

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