The Heineken family remains one of the most influential names in the global beverage industry due primarily to their 165-year history producing the beer that bears the family name. Today, Heineken stands as the second-largest beer producer in the world. The Heineken family remains in control of the ownership structure behind the large international corporation. The family controls a majority share of the holding company, which has the majority stake in Heineken. The Hoyer family has a minority stake in the same holding company. The family’s roots in the business trace back to the founder, Gerard Adriaan Heineken, who launched the company in 1854. Learning under his mentor, Louis Pasteur, young Gerard developed the brewery’s secret ingredient – the Heineken A-yeast, which is still used in the brewing process today. Gerard’s son, Henry Pierre Heineken, ran the company from 1917 to 1940 and stayed involved as late as 1851. He is credited with developing a process to maintain consistency in the quality when they scaled up to mass production. Alfred Henry Heineken represented the third generation, taking over in 1940 and remaining involved with the family business up until his death in 2002. His only child, daughter Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, currently stands as the sole heir and controlling family member behind the Heineken empire.
