Heineken Malaysia names marketing director

Heineken Malaysia has named Pablo Chabot (pictured) marketing director, replacing Jiri Rakosnik to lead the marketing department and drive performance of its portfolio of beer, stout and cider brands in Malaysia. They include Heineken, Tiger, Guinness, Anchor, Apple Fox and Strongbow.Prior to his new role, Chabot was marketing manager for the Heineken beer brand at Heineken China, where he focused on building a winning team, championed the development of a more digital and mobile first marketing approach, delivering growth for the brand. He joined the company in 2008 and has held various roles in both marketing and trade marketing in multiple Heineken operating companies including the Netherlands, Nigeria, and Switzerland.In a statement to A+M, Chabot said the team hopes to thrill consumers every day with exciting, relevant and premium brand experiences. “We will be consumer first in everything we do and lead and grow the entire beer, stout and cider category using innovation, creativity, and a relentless passion for quality,” he added.Last month, the company unveiled Heineken 0.0 in Malaysia, its non-alcoholic malt beverage which hopes to offer consumers a wider choice for drinking occasions. The beverage made its debut in Asia in 2018, launching in Singapore, followed by Thailand earlier this year. Heineken ‘s iconic green label has also been turned blue, a colour that is associated with the non-alcoholic category.Meanwhile, the company witnessed a 21% increase in group revenue from RM434 million in 2018 to RM525 million for the first quarter ended 31 March 2019. This was mainly driven by higher sales volume from the effective execution of commercial campaigns during Chinese New Year this year, such as Tiger Beer’s Uncage New Beginnings campaign, nationwide activations of Guinness’ St. Patrick’s Festival and Heineken’s Live Your Music campaign.Heineken Malaysia also saw a change in leadership in 2018, with Roland Bala replacing Hans Essaadi as managing director, who went on to helm the role of managing director, Heineken Egypt.