Brendan Whitworth, the CEO of the Anheuser-Busch business in the US & AB InBev’s North America head, is poised to vacate both positions at the end of this month.
The move, announced in a short statement by the group late yesterday (2 November), brings to an end Whitworth’s (below) 13-year career with AB InBev. A replacement has yet to be appointed, while “a new leader for the North America Zone will be announced in due course”.
Whitworth started with AB InBev in 2013, joining from PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division to become the global director of sales for route-to-market & wholesaler management. He transferred from the group to the Anheuser-Busch division two years later, first as VP for sales & marketing in the north-east of the US, before becoming chief sales officer in late 2017. In mid-2021, he was appointed North America president, replacing Michel Doukeris as he ascended to the group CEO role.
Doukeris will assume Whitworth’s responsibilities on an interim basis.
“I am incredibly proud of the North America leadership team and everything we have accomplished together,” said Whitworth. “I am confident that the business will continue to be successful in the years and decades to come.”
Doukeris added: “My sincere thanks to Brendan for his contributions to AB InBev and for his partnership over the past 13 years. The strategy in the US that has been in place since 2018 has resulted in an industry-leading portfolio, strong alignment with our wholesaler partners and sustained commercial momentum.
“I look forward to continuing to work alongside our … North America leadership team, wholesalers and partners to accelerate our current momentum.”
Whitworth’s legacy at AB InBev will be dominated by the ‘Brewing Futures’ investment programme, which commenced in May last year with US$300m earmarked for manufacturing operations in the US. The initiative was doubled – to $600m – just over six months ago. In April 2023, Whitworth had to navigate calls for a boycott of Bud Light after actor & online celebrity Dylan Mulvaney posted a video thanking Anheuser-Busch for sending her a personalised can of the beer.
