Kelsey Sibley has been appointed General Manager of the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam as of August 2026, succeeding Lieke Westendorp at the head of one of the most visited tourist sites in the Netherlands. The appointment comes after thirteen years and seven months with the Heineken group, including more than two years as Global HR Director – Commerce and Chief of Staff to the group’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).
The Heineken Experience at a glance
What it is: an immersive visitor centre housed in Heineken’s original historic brewery.
Location: Stadhouderskade 78, De Pijp district, Amsterdam.
History: building constructed in 1867, operated as a brewery until 1988, opened to the public in 1991, refurbished between 2021 and late 2022.
Footfall: around 1.3 million visitors a year, predominantly international tourists.
Purpose: to showcase Heineken’s heritage and brand to the wider public through an educational trail, tastings and a panoramic rooftop.
In a post published on LinkedIn as she took up the role, Kelsey Sibley said she was looking forward to writing the next chapter of the site alongside the Heineken Experience team, building on the work carried out by her predecessor.
Amsterdam, fertile ground for leadership moves
The appointment comes amid a broader reshuffle of leadership teams across Amsterdam’s hotel and tourism sector. Several establishments in the Dutch capital have recently made changes at general manager level, following the example of Rogério Carvalho, appointed General Manager of the Pestana Amsterdam Riverside.
A career built across human resources and commercial strategy
Before taking the helm of the Heineken Experience, Kelsey Sibley served as Global HR Director – Commerce and Chief of Staff to the CCO from March 2024 to August 2026. In this role, she led the HR agenda for the group’s 35,000 commercial employees worldwide, while supporting governance, communications and stakeholder management for the commercial function.
She previously headed HR for Heineken’s EMEA Export & Global Duty Free unit from January 2022 to July 2024 as Head of HR, responsible for HR strategy across teams spanning three continents. Her career also included roles as Global HR Project Manager / Business Partner – Commerce from December 2019 to January 2022, during which she led talent management strategy for the marketing and sales teams and launched “Women in Sales,” the group’s global initiative promoting gender balance in commercial roles.
Between 2017 and 2019, she held the roles of Global Employee Engagement Lead and then Employee Engagement Advisor, during which she led employee engagement strategy across the group and coordinated more than one hundred project leads involved in the Heineken Climate Survey. She joined Heineken in 2013 as a Talent Management Analyst / Recruiter for the group’s international graduate programme, before contributing to the rollout of the company’s global employer brand.
A background in life sciences and public health
Kelsey Sibley holds a Master of Science Cum Laude in Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship in Health Sciences from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, awarded in 2013, and a Bachelor’s degree Magna Cum Laude in Biological Sciences and Spanish from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She also completed Spanish language studies at the Universidad de Alicante.
A dual US and Dutch national, she is a certified Hogan Assessment practitioner and Insights Discovery Practitioner, and completed Heineken’s Emerging Professionals Leadership Programme.
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At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
Appointment: Kelsey Sibley has been named General Manager of the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, effective August 2026.
Previous role: Global HR Director – Commerce & Chief of Staff to the CCO at Heineken (March 2024 – August 2026).
13+ years at Heineken across HR, talent management and employee engagement roles.
Led the global “Women in Sales” initiative and the Heineken Climate Survey engagement programme.
Holds an MSc from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and a BSc from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Dual US and Dutch citizenship.
