AB-InBev to dominate top jobs after SABMiller takeover
The good news is: The world’s largest brewer said on 4 August 2016 it would continue to be headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, while its global management team, including CEO Carlos Brito and Chief Financial Officer Felipe Dutra, would continue to work out of New York.
The bad news is: AB-InBev said it would keep SABMiller’s offices in Woking, UK, open during a transitional period only, but would immediately close its central London headquarters. SABMiller’s regional hubs in Miami, Hong Kong and Beijing will also be wound down.
The interesting news is: AB-InBev’s executives will dominate leadership positions, filling all but one position on an expanded - if not bloated - executive management board. Under the new structure, AB-InBev will expand its executive management board from 17 to 20 people by adding geographic zones covering Africa, Australia and Colombia.
This means there will be nine ‘zone overseers’ on the board. For comparison, Heineken has divided its business into four geographical zones as had SABMiller. But AB-InBev’s compartmentalised approach to its global business fits its practice of placing its executives in positions to quickly install the Brazilians’ target-oriented, cost-conscious culture after a takeover.
The individual responsibilities are perfectly clear and none of the zone presidents will be able to excuse their not trying hard enough by saying that they had to stretch themselves too thin and could not pay attention to detail.
Introducing its new executive board of management, AB-InBev said that Mauricio Leyva, currently the Managing Director of SABMiller’s South African unit SAB, will lead AB-InBev’s Middle Americas business from Mexico City and become the only SABMiller member of the combined brewer’s executive management board.
The new trans-Africa head will be AB-InBev’s Ricardo Tadeu, a Brazilian, who is currently President of AB-InBev’s Mexican unit. Yokesh Maharaj, Director of Sales and Distribution at SAB, will join Mr Tadeu as the head of the South African business.
AB-InBev’s new African unit will have operations across 16 African countries. It is expected to boost AB-InBev’s sales as it struggles to increase volumes in the US and battles an economic downturn in Brazil, its two major markets.
The Africa group will be overseen by an African board chaired by the South African Jabu Mabuza, who is the current chair of Telkom SA. Once a protégé of SABMiller’s former Chairman Meyer Kahn, he has worked on behalf of SABMiller in a variety of positions, including serving on the board of Tanzanian Breweries Ltd. and Castle Brewing, Kenya.
SABMiller General Counsel John Davidson, Africa Managing Director Mark Bowman and Human Resources Director Johann Nel will stay with the new company for at least six months, AB-InBev said.
There was no mention of roles for SABMiller’s CEO Alan Clark or finance chief Domenic De Lorenzo in the announcement.
