Heineken USA appoints Alison Payne as Chief Marketing Officer

Heineken USA announced the promotion of Alison Payne to Chief Marketing Officer, effective January 2025. Payne will report to CEO Maggie Timoney, succeeding Jonnie Cahill, who is leaving after 10 years to pursue external opportunities.

Payne succeeds previous CMO Jonnie Cahil, who after 10 years with Heineken will “pursue external opportunities in the United States,” per the brand in the announcement.

She returns to Heineken USA from the Global Commerce leadership team in Amsterdam, where she led international brands like Birra Moretti and Strongbow. Previously, she headed Heineken USA’s Mexican portfolio (2018-2021), revitalizing Dos Equis and developing innovative flavored beers.

Maggie Timoney, CMO, Heineken USA in the announcement said “Alison is a strong people leader who brings strategic vision, a passion for the beer category and a proven track record of building brands and delivering results. Her broad experience across various parts of our business, together with her innovative mindset will be invaluable to our brands and company.”

Before her global position, Payne worked at Heineken USA from 2018 to 2021, heading the company’s Mexican portfolio in the U.S. As part of the position, she led the overhaul of the Dos Equis brand and “developed a pipeline of innovations extending into flavored beers,” per the release.

Before Heineken, from 2013 to 2018, Payne served as vice president of global snacks innovation for PepsiCo. Earlier in her career, she worked as vice president of global marketing and innovation at the Kellogg Company, as well as holding key marketing roles at Diageo in both Europe and the U.S. for the Guinness, Smirnoff and Captain Morgan brands.