Helene Weesie is a Senior Advisor, Strategy & Finance at First Key Consulting. She is an energetic, entrepreneurial senior executive with 30+ years’ experience in the brewing and beverage industry across Europe, Africa/Middle East and the Caribbean/Central America. Helene works as an associate consultant with our clients on strategic vision & implementation; marketing and brand building; turnaround management; innovation; employee engagement; sustainability/ESG strategy & implementation; performance improvement and stakeholder management across different cultures and regulatory systems.

Prior to joining First Key, Helene was for 8 years with Diageo and 21 years with Heineken. She led the Diageo operations in Ghana as Managing Director, handling a broad portfolio of international & local brands in beer, RTD, non-alc and spirits. Before that as Managing Director of Diageo/Serengeti Breweries in Tanzania, she transformed the overall business & portfolio strategy and restructured the organization. From 1993-2014, Helene worked with Heineken International in various roles around the world. She was Managing Director of Heineken in Panama and prior to that was Marketing & Sales Director, Heineken Africa & Middle-East with responsibility for 15 local Heineken operations. As Marketing & Sales Director for Heineken Caribbean she was responsible for strategy, business development and P&L for all 32 Caribbean markets. Over the course of her career Helene has had extensive board experience including with Guinness Ghana, Serengeti Breweries Limited, Cervecerias Baru Panama, with Sirocco, the JV Heineken/Emirates in UAE; with Brandhouse, the JV Heineken/Diageo in South Africa and with the JV Heineken/Angostura in Trinidad & Tobago.

Helene received an award for Woman Led Business of the Year in 2021 and was voted CEO of the Year of the Manufacturing Sector in 2022 and 2023. She completed her Masters Degree Marketing & Sociology, University of Wageningen, Netherlands and also attended Wharton Business School, London Business School and INSEAD. Helene speaks English, Spanish, Dutch and German. Outside of First Key, Helene enjoys traveling, arts and culture and is passionate about diversity & inclusion. Helene also serves as a Non-Executive Board Member for a packaging solutions company operating in 4 countries in East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique). Helene is based in Tanzania.