Anheuser-Busch InBev has appointed a former senior lead at White Claw hard seltzer owner Mark Anthony Brands as its global head of innovation for ‘beyond beer’.
Davin Nugent, who stepped down as CEO of Mark Anthony’s international operations just over a year ago, has started with the brewing giant this month. The move, which has been confirmed to Global Drinks Intel by AB InBev, will see the Irish national split his time between Leuven in Belgium and the US.
A spokesperson for the group added that the role has been newly created.
Having commenced a marketing agency role, covering alcohol brands, in 2001, Nugent joined the UK arm of Kopparberg brand owner Cider of Sweden four years later. He switched to Mark Anthony’s Dublin-based international division at the start of 2015 as CEO, a position he held until his departure in January 2022.
A-B InBev’s ‘beyond beer’ projects include NÜTRL Vodka Seltzer, which hit the US in 2021, and spirits-based RTD brand Cutwater Spirits. In October, the group credited the two brands for driving a 10% lift in sales for the unit in the three months to the end of September.
The company will report its full-year 2022 numbers on 2 March.
