Two-time CIO 100 winner Ostertag also details Heineken’s unique interpretation of digital transformation, and how it’ll shape the strategy in 2025 and beyond. Watch the full video below for more insights.
On a fundamental tech fix: When I joined Heineken in 2019, it was clear that big changes were needed, starting with the positioning and understanding of the tech function at the time. Like in many other companies, it was seen as a cost factor. The technology function was under finance, and we weren’t at the same table with the other key leaders in the company, on a global, regional, or even a local level. And that had an impact because the IT strategy wasn’t fully integrated and connected to the overall enterprise business strategy of the company. Another key reason why a change was needed was we were coming from a very fragmented technology landscape. We had 3,500 business platforms and solutions in the company, 45 ERP solutions globally, and we had no real consistent standardized view on where we were, or tech landscape where we wanted to be. So based on that, a lot of things have happened since 2019. For instance, we have a new corporate function called the digital technology function where we’re now at the table, and we’re represented with leaders like myself and those in the operating companies. The strategy is now fully connected and integrated to the business strategy.
On a digital framework: The number-one priority is about people and having the right people with the right capabilities in place. We really put a lot of effort in digital upscaling not only within the digital tech function, but also in the business on all levels, inclusive of senior leaders. And then there’s quite a shift in the company toward hubs, where we leverage the power of them for different purposes. If you continue in this vein, other things we’re doing are digitizing our route to consumer, and creating value for the business by leveraging data and data analytics. And then we’re simplifying and automating our processes with AI. So we’re focusing on establishing what we call a secure digital backbone, which is a full modernization of our technology landscape that’s geared to our focus on our customers and value creation.
