A successor of longtime AB InBev boss Carlos Brito has already been found, Bloomberg reported today. The most likely candidate is Michel Doukeris who leads AB InBev’s North American business as CEO Anheuser Busch. The region counts for most almost a third of the company’s sales and is therefore considered paramount in AB InBev’s longterm strategy.
Born in 1973, Doukeris is 13 years younger than Brito. Both are Brazilian citizens like a number of other top executives and major shareholders, including billionaire investor Jorge Paulo Lemann.
Doukeris holds a degree in chemical engineering from Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil and a master's degree in marketing from Fundação Getulio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He joined AB InBev in 1996 and managed commercial operations in Latin America, Asia, and in the global headquarters before assuming leadership of Anheuser-Busch and the North American business in January of 2018.
A final decision hasn’t been made, but the latest plan would elevate Doukeris to the CEO position later this year after a transition period, Bloomberg cited a person close to the matter. The announcement of the change in leadership will most likely happen in the coming weeks before the company’s annual general meeting in April.
Last September, AB InBev hired a recruitment firm to find a successor but said it would also consider internal candidates with Michel Doukeris being the first choice. (inside.beer, 7.9.2020)
