August 30/Downers Grove, Ill./Business Wire -- Sara Lee Corp. SLE appointed Michiel Herkemij as executive vice president and chief executive officer of its International Beverage business. He will also serve as chief executive officer of “CoffeeCo,” once it is spun-off from Sara Lee Corp. in the first half of calendar 2012. Herkemij will start his new duties no later than December 1, 2011 and the company will conduct the customary consultations with works councils regarding his appointment.
Herkemij joins Sara Lee from Heineken N.V. He currently serves as president and chief executive officer of Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, a leading beer manufacturer in Mexico with six breweries and 18,000 employees, acquired by Heineken in 2010. Previously, he was chief executive officer of Heineken's Nigerian subsidiary, a publicly listed company. Prior to Heineken, he held multiple managerial positions with Royal Friesland Campina N.V., a dairy company, where he worked in the Benelux region, China and Nigeria. He began his business career with British American Tobacco in the U.K. and Iberia (Spain & Portugal) and ABN AMRO Bank N.V.