2016年，华润啤酒（CR Beer）作为全球销量第一的啤酒公司，面临着前所未有的挑战。中国啤酒市场的容量已经达到顶峰，消费者对高端化和个性化体验的需求迅速增长。以往依赖规模、价格战和收购的战略已经不再适用。对于新任CEO侯孝海来说，他的任务不仅是增加销量，更是重塑公司的灵魂。在这样一个强调敏捷性和真实性的商业环境中，华润啤酒的转型故事成为一个强有力的案例研究，展示了如何通过勇气、清晰的战略和文化凝聚力来引领变革。其经验不仅适用于啤酒行业，从波士顿的董事会到圣保罗的创业圈，都能找到共鸣。

在愈发看重敏捷与真实性的商业环境中，华润啤酒转型的故事是一个强有力的案例研究，它展示了如何以勇气、清晰战略和文化凝聚力为引领的变革。其经验远超啤酒行业，从波士顿的董事会到圣保罗的创业圈，皆可共鸣。

In 2016, China Resources Beer (CR Beer)—the world’s largest beer company by volume—stood at a crossroads. The Chinese beer market had peaked. Consumer tastes were shifting dramatically toward premium, personalized experiences. The old playbook of scale, price wars, and acquisitions was no longer enough. For CR Beer’s new CEO, Hou Xiaohai, the challenge wasn’t just about selling more beer—it was about reinventing the company’s soul.

In a landscape that increasingly rewards agility and authenticity, the story of CR Beer’s transformation is a powerful case study in leading with courage, clarity, and cultural alignment. Its lessons resonate far beyond the beer business—from boardrooms in Boston to startup hubs in São Paulo.

Snow Beer, leading beer brand in ChinaMARK GREEVEN

侯孝海接手的是一台“笨重的机器”：98家低效的工厂、臃肿的团队，以及高端市场的弱势地位。多数CEO会选择小修小补，但侯孝海选择直面他口中的“三座大山”。

华润啤酒将工厂削减三分之一，员工规模减半，同时为保留核心人才将他们的薪资提高47%。这并非纸上谈兵，而是贯穿痛苦、目标与人本导向的领导力实现。这一过程需要长期的忍耐力、自制力和情商。

对习惯季度业绩压力的美国高管而言，侯孝海的多年转型之路提醒我们：长期战略变革需要牺牲，而非口号。

Hou inherited an unwieldy machine: 98 inefficient breweries, a bloated workforce, and a weak position in the premium market. Many CEOs would tinker at the edges. Hou chose to climb what he called the “Three Mountains” head-on.

CR Beer cut its breweries by one-third, halved its workforce, and increased wages by 47% to retain critical talent. This wasn’t a spreadsheet exercise—it was leadership through pain, purpose, and people. It took years of patience, discipline, and emotional intelligence.

For American leaders accustomed to quarterly performance pressures, Hou’s multi-year transformation reminds us that long-term strategic change demands sacrifice, not just slogans.

转型不仅是行动，更是员工在过程中的感受。华润啤酒发起中国企业管理史上最大规模的文化转型之一，让3.6万名员工共同参与塑造新文化基因——“每一个人都不简单，每一瓶酒才放光彩”。

这绝非表面功夫。华润啤酒将文化植入管理体系、绩效考核和领导力发展中。那结果如何呢？员工从抵触转向践行。

正如微软、喜力等全球企业领导人所领悟的：文化是现代企业真正的运作机制。是让转型扎根的关键。

Transformation isn’t just about what you do—it’s about how people feel doing it. CR Beer launched one of the largest cultural transformation efforts in Chinese corporate history, engaging over 36,000 employees in co-creating a new cultural DNA: “Every Individual Matters, Every Bottle Shines.”

This wasn"t window dressing. CR Beer embedded culture into its management systems, performance reviews, and leadership development. The result? A workforce that moved from resistance to resilience.

As global leaders—from Microsoft to Heineken—have learned, culture is the real operating system of modern organizations. It’s what makes transformation stick.

当许多中国企业追逐海外市场时，侯孝海提出了逆向思维：先让世界顶尖品牌走进中国。2018年，华润啤酒与喜力达成里程碑合作，获得喜力授予在中国（包括内地、香港和澳门）独家使用Heineken®品牌，加速高端化战略。

对喜力而言，此举使其在中国（现为全球第二大市场）重燃增长。对华润啤酒而言，合作带来了全球品牌背书，并赢得年轻都市消费者的即时信任。

这是全球化的正确打开方式——不靠盲目扩张，而是协作共赢。这对进军亚洲的美国企业亦是启示：本土规模与全球品牌资产的结合，远胜单打独斗。

While many Chinese firms chase overseas markets, Hou took a contrarian view: first, bring the world’s best to China. In 2018, CR Beer formed a landmark partnership with Heineken, securing exclusive China distribution rights and accelerating its premium strategy.

For Heineken, the move reignited growth in what is now its second-largest market globally. For CR Beer, the partnership brought global cachet and immediate credibility with younger urban consumers.

This is globalization done right—not through expansion alone, but through collaborative advantage. It’s a lesson for American companies entering Asia: local scale and global brand equity can be more powerful together than apart.

华润啤酒的变革不止于架构调整。公司实现了从供应链到销售渠道的全面数字化。作为Z世代的旗舰品牌“SuperX”的推出不仅是新品上市，更是与消费者共创、数据驱动、以生活方式为中心的品牌重塑。

华润啤酒还重构了市场策略，效仿快消品最佳实践，以“大客户平台”取代传统经销商，通过大数据精准定位高端渠道，赋能小经销商技术与培训，并将激励与战略目标对齐。

此处的领导力不仅关乎宏大愿景，更在于将战略与执行贯穿企业每个层级——从生产线到音乐节现场。

CR Beer didn’t stop at restructuring. The company digitized everything from supply chains to sales channels. The creation of SuperX—its flagship Gen Z brand—wasn’t just a product launch. It was a co-created, data-driven, lifestyle-centered reinvention.

CR Beer also overhauled its go-to-market model, replacing traditional distributors with a sophisticated “Major Customer Platform,” modeled after FMCG best practices. It used big data to target premium outlets, empowered small distributors with tech and training, and aligned incentives with strategic goals.

Leadership here wasn’t about bold vision alone—it was about connecting strategy to execution across every level of the business, from factory floors to music festivals.

面对不断变化的酒类市场，华润啤酒做了一件很少有“巨头”敢做的事：进军白酒市场。质疑声四起，但侯孝海的长远视角终占上风。

华润啤酒耐心布局白酒业务——收购区域品牌股权、整合分销网络、投资高端化。这一案例堪称“邻近创新”的教科书，正如亚马逊从图书转向云计算，或百威英博整合全球精酿品牌。

对全球CEO而言，启示明确：未来不仅能在核心业务中深挖发现，还能在能力与信念的边缘处发现。

Facing an evolving alcohol market, CR Beer did something few giants dare to do: diversify into Baijiu, China’s iconic liquor category. Skeptics questioned the move. But Hou’s long-term view prevailed.

CR Beer built its liquor business patiently—acquiring stakes in key regional brands, integrating distribution, and investing in premiumization. It’s a textbook case of adjacency innovation, mirroring how Amazon moved from books to cloud or how AB InBev integrated craft beer brands globally.

For global CEOs, the message is clear: the future isn’t found by looking deeper into the core—it’s found at the edges of capability and conviction.

华润啤酒的历程不仅是中国企业的成功故事，更是21世纪高管应对动荡的商业世界的领导力指南。它告诉我们：卓越领导者要先对齐再加速——在追逐增长前，先修复架构与文化。颠覆需要同理心与纪律——尤其在传统厚重的行业。全球合作不是控制，而是共创——喜力在中国的复兴即是明证。数字化转型始于人才，而非平台。面向未来的领导者超越效率——他们塑造身份认同。

CR Beer’s journey is more than a Chinese success story. It’s a leadership playbook for any executive navigating the volatility of the 21st century. It teaches us that:Great leaders create alignment before acceleration—fixing structure and culture before chasing growth.Reinvention demands empathy and discipline, especially in legacy-heavy industries.Global partnerships are not about control but co-creation, as seen with Heineken’s resurgence in China.Digital transformation must start with people, not just platforms.Future-ready leaders go beyond efficiency—they shape identity.

当华润啤酒步入九年转型的收官阶段，它有力印证了规模无法替代灵魂，而在颠覆时代，领导力才是真正的差异化竞争力。

对纽约、内罗毕、深圳或圣保罗的CEO而言，问题不在于是否改变，而在于是否以勇气引领变革——让改变有意义，且可持续。

As CR Beer enters the final phase of its nine-year transformation, it offers a powerful reminder that scale is no substitute for soul, and that in the age of disruption, leadership is the true differentiator.

For CEOs in New York or Nairobi, Shenzhen or São Paulo, the question isn’t whether to change. It’s whether you’re leading with the courage to make that change meaningful—and sustainable.

通过与国内外众多优秀企业的合作交流，华润啤酒不仅学到了许多宝贵的经验教训，同时也为自身赢得了更多发展机遇。无论是与喜力达成的战略联盟，还是进军白酒市场的尝试，都体现了其敢于打破常规、勇于尝试新事物的决心。这种开放包容的心态无疑将为公司在未来的发展道路上开辟出更加广阔的空间。