Freddy Heineken
From Wikinfo
Alfred Henry (Freddy) Heineken, born November 4, 1923 in Amsterdam, Netherlands - died January 3, 2002 in Noordwijk, Netherlands, was a major stock holder and president of Heineken Breweries.
In 1942, an 18-year-old Freddy Heineken went to work at his grandfather's beer brewery. Following the end of World War II, he was sent to the United States to work in the sales department of Heineken's American importer. His experience there taught him new marketing concepts and the value of good advertising. Through his work in the USA he met Lucille Cummins, a young lady from a Kentucky bourbon family, whom he married on August 29, 1948. Their daughter Charlene, an only child and Heineken�s sole heir, was born in 1954.
Under Freddy Heineken�s father, the family had lost control of the brewery bought in 1864 by his father Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 1947, a determined 23 year-old Freddy Heineken, without a penny to his name, is said to have hired a Rolls-Royce and chauffeur and with great flare arrived at an Amsterdam bank where his confident presence allowed him to secure a loan that let him purchase a large stake in the company that led, in 1954, to his gaining back control. It was Freddy Heineken's creativity that gave the company's brand its distinct green bottle and the logo with the red star and the black banner bearing the brand name. And, it was he who decided that the letters "e" should be printed in a special typeface to resemble smiling faces.
Heineken�s leadership saw the Dutch company become the world's fourth-largest brewer while making him the wealthiest man in the Netherlands. His support for the arts and music, combined with his love of fast cars, luxurious yachts, and private jets, earned him a reputation as one of Europe�s most flamboyant entrepreneurs. Recognition of his business accomplishments came at home and from abroad. In addition to several honorary University doctorates, he was made a Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion and a Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau. In France, he was awarded the Legion of Honor.
Freddy Heineken and his chauffeur, Ab Doderer were kidnapped in 1983 and were held in separate cells in a deserted warehouse in the port of Amsterdam. Dressed only in pajamas, for three weeks they were chained to a wall until being released after a ransom of 35 million guilders (about 16 million Euros) was paid. The kidnappers were Cor van Hout, Willem Holleeder, Frans Meijer and Jan Boelaard. Van Hout, Holleeder and Boelaard served their prison term in the Netherlands, but Meijer escaped and lived in Paraguay for several years until he was discovered and imprisoned there. In 2003, he abandoned court proceedings against his extradition to the Netherlands, and was transferred to a Dutch prison to serve the remainder of his term.
The kidnapping had a profound affect on Freddy Heineken and he dropped out of much of the public eye. In 1995, he stepped down as company chairman, but remained active behind the scenes, exercising his considerable influence as a controlling shareholder.
Freddy Heineken passed away in 2002 at his resort home in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
