Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Carlos Brito will step down after 15 years at the helm of the world’s largest beer manufacturer, effective July 1, and North America zone president Michel Doukeris will supplant him, the company announced today.
“We are grateful to Brito for his tremendous service and leadership,” A-B InBev board chair Martin Barrington said in a press release. “Among his many accomplishments, Brito was the architect who led and built A-B InBev into the world’s leading beer company and a leading global consumer packaged goods company by masterfully integrating the many businesses that comprise A-B InBev today.
“He has always been a role model of the company’s successful ownership culture,” he continued. “The board thanks Brito for his dedicated service, passion, caring and commitment to making our company dream big and delivering.”
The announcement comes after months of speculation. Brito’s pending departure was first reported in the Financial Times in September 2020. The publication reported in February that Doukeris was favored to be his successor.
In his tenure, Brito oversaw the acquisitions that made A-B InBev the global giant it is today, including InBev’s takeover of A-B in 2008, the company’s $100 billion MegaBrew merger with SABMiller in 2016, and the many acquisitions of craft breweries in the U.S.
“After conducting a rigorous and robust selection process, the board is delighted that our next CEO comes from our deep bench of leadership talent,” Barrington said in the release. “Michel is the right leader to take the company into its next phase of organic growth and success. He has a proven track record in innovation, multi-category brand building in beer and adjacencies, consumer insight, and expanding premium brands in both emerging and developed markets.”
Doukeris has led the company’s North America zone since January 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile. During that time, the company’s Michelob Ultra brand saw explosive growth, becoming the second best-selling beer in the country; the rise of several of its Brewers Collective craft brands to national prominence, including Elysian Space Dust IPA and Goose Island IPA; the volume declines of Budweiser and Bud Light, as well as the introduction of Bud Light Seltzer, among many other hard seltzers in A-B’s portfolio.
Prior to his current role, Doukeris served as global chief sales officer from 2016-2017, Asia Pacific zone president from 2012-2016 and China region president from 2010-2012. He joined Cervejaria Ambev, which merged with InterBrew in 2004 to become InBev, in 1996.
“I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to lead A-B InBev and to continue our company’s legacy of exceptional leadership and value creation,” Doukeris said in the release. “Throughout my career at A-B InBev, I have had the privilege to lead our business in different regions of the world and to work alongside the industry’s most talented and passionate colleagues every step of the way. I look forward to bringing a fresh perspective that builds on our consumer-first mindset and drives innovation and transformation in this next exciting stage.”
A-B will discuss its Q1 earnings during a conference call for investors and analysts later this morning.