Here is David Gelles’ profile of Bernardo Hees for The New York Times. To read the complete article and check out others, please click here.
Credit: Mike Cohen for The New York Times
* * *
A powerful force in the food business defends a famously frugal culture — and admits C.E.O.s don’t have all the answers.
Over the last decade, one Brazilian private equity firm has had an outsize impact on the food business.
That firm, 3G Capital, has been on a deal spree, taking over companies including Anheuser-Busch, Burger King, Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz.
3G is at once a profligate spender and deeply thrifty. The firm has spent many billions to amass its portfolio of companies, yet is known for its frugal culture, and practices zero-based budgeting, a management method for controlling costs.
3G is closely held, and its partners — including Kraft Heinz’s chief executive officer, Bernardo Hees — take a hands-on approach to managing their investments.
Mr. Hees attended college in Brazil and studied business at the University of Warwick in England. After spending 12 years running Latin America’s largest railroad, he moved to Miami and became chief executive of Burger King.
He was made chief executive of Heinz in 2013, following the acquisition of the company by 3G and Berkshire Hathaway. In 2015, Heinz acquired Kraft Foods to create Kraft Heinz. This interview, which was condensed and edited for clarity, was conducted at the Core Club in New York City.
Tell us about growing up in Brazil.
I grew up in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, so I’m a “Carioca,” like you normally say in Brazil. My father worked for an American company, a multinational construction company called Bechtel. He became the C.E.O. of them in Brazil. And my mother was a teacher.
Were you interested in business when you were young?
The two things I liked the most growing up were always history and mathematics. I always wanted to be able to transform the environment, to do big things, to be with people.
What was your first job?
I used to be a tour guide in Rio. I was selling Rio de Janeiro, the city itself, the natural beauty. Understanding how groups behave and how to connect with people was very helpful.
How did you connect with 3G?
In college, I got a scholarship from a foundation run by the 3G founders. The only agreement was, when you start working, you would pay back 5 percent of your annual salary until you could pay back the loan. There was no signing agreement, there was no debt. It was all about the shake of hands.
When I finished my M.B.A., I wrote them. At the time, Alex Behring [a founding partner of 3G] was going to southern Brazil to a railroad project, and he said, “Look, why don’t you come spend some days there and see what it’s all about?”
I remember asking him, “Alex, have you read my C.V.? Or my résumé?”
And he said, “Why?”
I said, “I know nothing about railroads.”
And he said, “Neither do I. This maybe is going to work.” So I went there.
[My take: Sometimes having nothing to unlearn is a significant advantage.]
* * *
Here is a direct link to the complete article.
David Gelles writes the Corner Office column and other features for The New York Times’s Sunday Business section, and works with the Well team to expand The Times‘s coverage of meditation.
To learn more about him and his work, please click here.