For more than 400 years, the Netherlands and the United States have enjoyed an economic relationship based on their shared values of freedom, justice and entrepreneurship.

To highlight these shared values, the Holland on the Hill program was launched in 2014. Holland on the Hill is a joint effort program of the US Congressional Caucus on the Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, corporate partners, and the Netherland-America Foundation.

The Heineken Award is named after the late Freddy Heineken, who was sent to the United States in the 1940s and established the Heineken brand overseas. Upon his return to the Netherlands, he used the innovative marketing skills he learned in the United States to transform Heineken into one of the world’s most recognized brands today.

The award honors industry leaders who have made a substantial contribution to the US-Dutch economic relationship through their entrepreneurial drive, a drive that is part of the Dutch DNA. The members of the Holland on the Hill Heineken Award and Lecture Committee have unanimously chosen Victoria B. Mars as the 2016 Heineken Award recipient and speaker.

Mrs. Mars will receive the Holland on the Hill Heineken Award to honor her efforts in furthering US-Netherlands bilateral economic relations, including her work in making the cocoa supply chain more sustainable.She is also being recognized for her promotion of women’s equality and her success in empowering women cocoa farmers.

The Netherlands is the second largest cocoa processing country in the world, and is home to the world’s largest cocoa port.