Mark de Witte has called time on his leadership of Netherlands-based De Kuyper Royal Distillers.
The CEO, who assumed the helm in mid-2015, intends to retire at the end of April, making way for former Carlsberg and Heineken executive Leo Evers. Witte’s nine-year tenure saw the liqueur & spirits group triple its turnover in the period, with De Kuyper having made “great strides towards its ambition to become the globally-recognised go-to company for cocktails”.
The brand owner’s highest-profile transaction during de Witte’s time was last year’s acquisition of Archers Peach Schnapps from Diageo. Speaking exclusively to Global Drinks Intel at the time, de Witte said the decision to buy the brand was based on “bumping into [its] enormously strong presence” with the group’s Peachtree peach-flavoured liqueur.
Evers is a seasoned executive in the beverage alcohol industry. Following five years with De Kuyper’s national peer, Lucas Bols, he spent just over 25 years with Heineken, becoming regional MD for Asia Pacific in 2019. Then, in 2021, he moved to Carlsberg, where he was Asia executive VP for 12 months to July last year.
“Mark leaves De Kuyper well-positioned for future growth, and we sincerely thank him for everything he has helped us to achieve,” said board chair Dirk-Jan Stoppelenburg. “We welcome Leo Evers to the company and are confident that his wealth of experience and strategic vision will contribute significantly to our continued success.”
Three months ago, De Kuyper signed up as Ecospirits’ partner in the Netherlands and Belgium, with some of the company’s brands being readied for release in the refillable format.
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