AB InBev CEO dismisses speculation of imminent departure

AB InBev’s long-serving CEO Carlos Brito has dismissed speculation that he is stepping down soon and told Reuters that he expects to be leading the company for “some time to come”.

Last month, the Financial Times reported that AB InBev had started searching for a replacement for Brito as he planned to step down at some point next year. After serving in his position of CEO for nearly 16 years, the newspaper said that he was involved in the hiring process and would join the board following his departure.

Following a phone interview with the current CEO after AB InBev released its third-quarter results, Reuters reported that Brito said he expects to remain the head of the brewer for “many quarters” to come.

According to Reuters, Brito referred to the previous announcement as “a whole bunch of rumours” that the company had not confirmed.

He added: “The two of us are going to continue to talk about results for the next many quarters. So, don’t worry about that. You’re not going to get rid of me.”

Brito allegedly said that the company looked into “succession planning” every year and had stepped up its efforts in light of the pandemic.

“We do this exercise all the time, including for my position. We do that normally in October. This year we did it in March and April because of Covid. Any responsible company would do that to be ready for possible events,” he told Reuters.