Anheuser-Busch CEO Whitworth to depart

ST. LOUIS — Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth will depart the company at the end of November to become CEO of luxury fitness and lifestyle brand Equinox.

The move announced late Monday comes as the St. Louis-based brewer is investing millions into improving its facilities. Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), a subsidiary of Leuven, Belgium-based AB InBev, announced in September that it would launch a $23 million expansion of its Fort Collins brewery to increase production and add a training center.

A new leader for the brewery’s North American Zone will be announced “in due course,” the brewer said late Monday. During the interim, it said, the North American leadership team will report directly to Michael Doukeris, CEO of AB InBev.

“My sincere thanks to Brendan for his contributions to AB InBev and for his partnership over the past 13 years,” Doukeris said in a prepared statement. “The strategy in the U.S. that has been in place since 2018 has resulted in an industry-leading portfolio, strong alignment with our wholesaler partners and sustained commercial momentum. I look forward to continuing to work alongside our world-class North America leadership team, wholesalers and partners to accelerate our current momentum.”

Whitworth joined AB InBev in 2013 as global director of sales, according to his LinkedIn profile. He became Anheuser-Busch CEO and zone president of North America in July 2021 after 

Doukeris was named to lead the global company.

“I’d like to thank Michel Doukeris for his strong support during my tenure at AB InBev,” Whitworth said in a prepared statement. “I am incredibly proud of the North America leadership team and everything we have accomplished together, and I am confident that the business will continue to be successful in the years and decades to come.”

A new leader for the North America Zone will be announced in due course. During the interim, the North America leadership team will report directly to Doukeris, who previously led the North America business.

AB InBev last week reported third-quarter revenue of $16.5 billion, a 4.9% increase from 2025.

In a statement announcing his hiring at Equinox, Whitworth said, “Equinox is an extraordinary brand and business that has truly defined high-performance living for more than three decades, and I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the company into its next chapter of growth.”

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