From getting people to lift a cheap Bud Light to a premium dumbbell, this is the next leadership transition for Brendan Whitworth.
AB InBev (BUD) announced Monday that Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth will leave the company, which is the North American arm of AB InBev, at the end of November. Whitworth will serve as CEO of high-end gym chain Equinox.
Michel Doukeris, CEO of Anheuser-Busch parent AB InBev, will lead key operations in North America on an interim basis until a new leader is announced. Doukeris led the North America business from January 2018 to June 2021. He became CEO of AB InBev in July 2021.
Whitworth’s journey to CEO of Anheuser-Busch has been an interesting one to say the least over the past five years.
Under Whitworth’s leadership, Bud Light felt the commercial impact of a national boycott and became a political punching bag for those on the right.
The commercial push began after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney teamed up with Bud Light to create an Instagram post during the 2023 March Madness basketball tournament endorsing the light beer. Following the April 1, 2023 release, AB InBev saw Bud Light sales plummet.
A high-profile interview with Whitworth on CBS in June 2023 did little to stem the public fallout.
Bud Light’s sales continued to be under pressure, even more so three years later, due to increased competition for light beer drinkers and gentler drinking in an increasingly health-conscious world.
On the other hand, AB InBev’s North American business is generally doing well.
83.85 +3.47 (+4.32%)
At 3:45:10 p.m. EST. Open market.
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AB InBev said in its third-quarter earnings report that it was the largest market share gainer in total alcohol year-to-date to date, with market share gains in beer and spirits. It claims to have gained in total alcohol share for 10 consecutive quarters, with beer performance led by Michelob Ultra and Busch Light.
AB InBev shares are up 25% year to date.
“Overall, we remain impressed by the progress across the board and view ABI as increasingly the global leader (in alcoholic beverages),” Evercore ISI analyst Robert Ottenstein wrote in a note. “ABI has an unrivaled beer portfolio, now significantly augmented by its Beyond Beer offerings, is the leader in e-commerce and digital technology, and has hard-to-match scale advantages in sourcing and media properties. In summary, ABI has all the elements of a + high single-digit percentage + a double-digit compound percentage worthy of a 20x+ multiple.
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