Long-time Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) sales leader Jake Kirsch will take over as president of its U.S. beyond beer business, effective January 1.
Kirsch supplants Fabricio Zonzini, who has led the division since November 2019. Zonzini will relocate to Brazil to serve as VP of strategy for the South America Zone (SAZ), reporting to SAZ CEO Carlos Lisboa.
Kirsch, an 14-year A-B vet, has led sales of the company’s beyond beer portfolio for the last four years. A-B U.S. CEO Brendan Whitworth credited Kirsch with being “instrumental in driving our beyond beer portfolio to double-digit growth and propelling Cutwater to its current position as the No. 1 spirits-based cocktail and NÜTRL to the No. 2 spirits-based seltzer in the U.S.”
“Jake’s deep understanding and appreciation of our consumers and customers combined with his broad commercial experience make him the right leader for our next phase of beyond beer growth,” Whitworth said in a statement. “I would like to thank Zonzini for the passion and dedication he has brought to our U.S. business and for his leadership on our beyond beer portfolio, and we wish him all the best in his new role.”
Kirsch will join A-B’s U.S. management committee and report to Whitworth.
Kirsch joined A-B in 2011 as a brand associate. He’s held several roles, including senior director of national craft in 2015, senior director of core innovation in 2017 and VP of innovation in 2018, before taking on the VP of beyond beer sales role in 2022.
Zonzini’s tenure working for A-B’s U.S. business included a stint as global vice president of strategy in 2017 before becoming chief strategy officer for North America in 2018. He took over the beyond beer business unit in the U.S. in November 2019. Per his LinkedIn profile, the role included “full P&L ownership of the fastest growing business unit in the largest Zone at A-B InBev, accountable for more than 50% of the zone’s growth.”
A week ago, Zonzini posted to LinkedIn that the growth of Cutwater and Nütrl had made A-B the No. 1 fastest-growing spirits supplier and the No. 10 largest spirits supplier in the U.S.
Cutwater Spirits – which A-B acquired from its founders, who also founded Ballast Point, in 2019 – was the 18th largest brand in the spirits category for the 51-week period ending September 6, according to NIQ data provided by 3 Tier Beverages. During that time, its dollar sales and volume have both grown 41.8% year-over-year.
Nütrl was the 45th largest brand in spirits, recording double-digit gains in dollar sales (+24.8%) and volume (+22.9%).
Both Cutwater and Nütrl are among the top 15 growth brands in the RTD segment, at No. 3 and No. 9, respectively, according to NIQ data shared by 3 Tier Beverages.
In May, A-B transitioned Cutwater and Nütrl to Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits (SGWS) in California. SGWS also picked up the brands in Hawaii and serves as a broker in control states Alabama, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming to A-B’s independent distributors where legally permitted to sell spirits-based RTDs.
In August, A-B sold its wholly owned distributor in New York City to SGWS, a transaction that included its beer brands, Cutwater and Nütrl Vodka Seltzer and newly launched energy drink brand Phorm Energy.