Luis Prata out; Daaf van Tilburg in

Durrant Pate/ Contributor

Red Stripe today announced a change in the top management of the iconic Jamaican beer brand.

Luis Prata, who joined the company as Managing Director in August 2019 will end his assignment on June 30, 2023. He will be replaced by Daaf van Tilburg, who is currently Managing Director of Brasserie Nationale d’Haïti (BRANA), effective July 1, 2023.

BRANA like Red Stripe is part of parent company Heineken. Prata will assume the role of Managing Director at Heineken Slovakia, effective July 1, 2023. Since August 2019, he has been leading Red Stripe through a period of transformation, “successfully delivering numerous projects that have improved the company performance,” Red Stripe declared in announcing the management change.

During his tenure, Prata piloted Red Stripe through the turbulent years of COVID-19, implementing several initiatives that ensured the safety and health of the team while supporting customers with the initiative “For our Bars, For Jamaica”.

Prata led Red Stripe with distinction

In a news release, Red Stripe credited Prata in developing the company’s premium portfolio especially through Heineken and the launch of Heineken 0.0. He also contributed significantly to the development of the beer sector with innovations such as Red Stripe Melon, Guinness Smooth and most recently Red Stripe Tall Boss while further enhancing the Red-cycling programme.

The release stated that Prata was also instrumental in spearheading the People agenda delivering a robust Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programme, leadership capability development initiatives and upgraded employee facilities.

He is also credited with increased brewery efficiency and operational agility through major investments such as the recently inaugurated Cellars Expansion Project and the Brewhouse Systems upgrade.

As Managing Director of BRANA, Tilburg is credited with leading the turnaround of the company, delivering strong revenue growth and business results whilst navigating the company through a very challenging period, always putting employee safety and health as his number one priority.