Dear Client:
Anheuser-Busch CMO Benoit Garbe, who has held the top marketing spot at the brewer for roughly two years, is resigning at year’s end “to embark on a new chapter in his career,” per A-B communication to wholesalers.
Chief Commercial Officer Kyle Norrington will step in.
A-B CEO Brendan Whitworth said that “rather than backfilling Benoit’s role, I have asked U.S. Chief Commercial Officer Kyle Norrington to oversee and be fully dedicated to all aspects of our marketing activities. In his new capacity, Kyle will be 100% focused on our brand plans and portfolio strategy, along with insights, analytics, and investments.”
Recall, the company had created the CCO role for Kyle two years ago, to oversee sales and marketing, when it ushered in some new commercial leaders [see BBD 09-21-2021]. And despite Kyle’s new marketing digs, he will remain in his current title for now, we understand. But High End chief Andy Thomas and U.S. sales chief Simon Wuestenberg will now report directly to Brendan, to help “free Kyle up to focus on marketing.”
Brendan thanked Benoit for his service to the company, then praised Kyle as being “one of the best marketeers in our industry and within ABI,” and “one that deeply understands all aspects of our U.S. business.”
Indeed, Kyle is a more than two-decade veteran of ABI, having been a “disruptive marketer,” and leading global brands from New York. He eventually led Labatt as president in Canada.
As for Benoit, you’ll recall that he had been at A-B for a few years now, joining the company as its chief strategy officer in November 2020 and later taking over the CMO role from Marcel Marcondes in September 2021, as Marcel transitioned to global CMO for ABI.
Benoit – who came to A-B with more than two decades of marketing experience and more recent stints at Prophet Consulting and Kantar – was at the helm during some big marketing changes for A-B, perhaps most notably, the company’s decision to step back as the exclusive beer marketer at the Super Bowl; and a charge to focus less on humor with Bud Light and more on the “essence” of Bud Light with its new and current platform, Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy.
The goal with today’s announcement, said Brendan, is for the company to be “even more streamlined,” and ensure that their “most senior marketeers are closer to every aspect of our brand activities” (particularly, it seems, as they strive to recover from the events of this year).
“These changes further reduce layers within our U.S. commercial organization and ensure our top commercial leaders are set up for success,” Brendan said. “We are seeing strong signs of improvement across different elements of our portfolio, and these changes will only accelerate that momentum as we drive our business forward in the months and years ahead.”
Developing.
Until tomorrow,
Harry, Jenn, Jordan, and Bianca
“Dare to be yourself.”
– Andre Gide
———- Sell Day Calendar ———-
Today’s Sell Day: 11
Sell days this month: 22
Sell days this month last year: 22
This month ends on a: Thurs.
This month last year ended on a: Wed.
YTD sell days Over/Under: +1
