AB InBev names new global CMO as part of management overhaul

Anheuser-Busch InBev has installed a new global chief marketing officer as part of sweeping management changes that include creating a global chief growth officer role. Marcel Marcondes takes the global CMO job after most recently serving as president of the brewer’s Beyond Beer division, which covers non-beer offerings such as spirits and non-alcohol products. He had been U.S. CMO from 2016 to 2021 and was known for emphasising creative that won industry recognition, especially at Cannes Lions, where the company this year will be crowned Creative Marketer of the Year. Marcondes replaces Pedro Earp, who the brewer said is leaving the company. Earp had held the global CMO job since 2018 and before that ran the brewer's global innovation unit, called ZX Ventures. Marcondes will report to Ricardo Tadeu, who takes on the global chief growth officer role after previously serving as Chief B2B Officer. Tadeu, a Brazilian citizen and 26-year veteran of the company, is credited with spearheading a business-to-business e-commerce platform called BEES that the brewer says allows retailers to quickly order AB InBev products and respond nimbly to consumer preferences. Tadeu will have several other direct reports, including Lucas Herscovici, formerly the chief sales officer, who is now the chief direct-to-consumer officer. “This new structure will align marketing, sales, B2B and Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) under Tadeu in his Chief Growth Officer role,” AB InBev stated. Gaining such alignment has been a key priority for consumer packaged goods companies, prompting C-suite reorganizations and, in some cases, new titles. Don’t miss the latest news. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters here. Unilever, for instance, recently refashioned Conny Braams’s job, naming her chief digital and commercial officer and charing her with the “the end-to-end digital transformation of Unilever, marketing and customer development worldwide to maximise opportunities for growth,” according to the company’s website. She had been chief digital and marketing officer. “There is this trend of companies bringing together all the growth levers of their business into one role,” said Richard Sanderson, who leads the marketing, sales and communications officer practice at executive search firm SpencerStuart. The upheavals have often included ditching the CMO role entirely. In AB InBev’s case, the company is keeping the CMO job and adding another layer between the role and the CEO—the chief growth officer. The organizational changes are among the first big moves of Michel Doukeris, who became CEO last July after serving as president of AB InBev’s North America Zone. He succeeded Carlos Brito, who held the CEO job for 15 years and oversaw significant acquisitions, including the 2016 acquisition of SABMiller. Without many sizeable brewers left to buy, AB InBev must grow more organically—which could ultimately define the tenure of Doukeris. In a statement announcing the organizational changes, Doukeris called the new structure “a critical step in delivering our strategy and transforming our business” while citing Tadeu’s “unrivaled expertise in customer and consumer-focused digital transformation combined with his extensive commercial experience.” The management changes come about a month after AB InBev completed a media agency review, installing Publicis Groupe to oversee the U.S., Mexico, Central America, South America, Europe and Asia, with Dentsu handling Canada and Africa. The world’s largest brewer in 2021 spent more than $5 billion on worldwide advertising and marketing, according to Ad Age Datacenter estimates. Check out The Big List, Ad Age Datacenter’s definitive rankings of advertisers and agencies.

AB InBev names new global CMO as part of management overhaul

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