BRUSSELS, Belgium -- InBev has appointed Luiz Fernando Edmond and David A. Peacock to the North American leadership team of Anheuser-Busch InBev, to become effective upon the closing of the combination of Anheuser-Busch Cos. and InBev. Upon close of the deal, Edmond will become zone president North America and Peacock will become president of A-B. As previously announced, St. Louis will be the North American headquarters for the combined company and the global home of the flagship Budweiser brand.
Edmond will oversee all of A-B InBev's operations in the United States and Canada. He currently [image-nocss] serves as InBev's zone president Latin America North and AmBev's CEO, positions that he has held since January 2005. Since joining AmBev in 1990 as a trainee, he has held various positions in the distribution, commercial and supply departments. Prior to his current role, he was sales officer, a position he held from 2002 to 2004.
His current position at InBev and AmBev will be filled by Joao Castro Neves, who currently serves as InBev's zone president Latin America South. The incumbent zone president for North America, Bernardo Pinto Paiva, will move from Canada to Argentina to become zone president Latin America South, replacing Neves.
Peacock will manage all U.S. operations for the combined company, including the brand management of Budweiser and Bud Light. He will assume this position after having served as vice president of marketing of A-B and CEO of Wholesaler Equity Development Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. He began working for A-B in 1992 and has held positions in corporate planning, brand management, corporate media and retail sales promotion.
Carlos Brito, InBev's CEO, said, "[Edmond] has been an integral part of InBev's management team since its inception, and under his leadership our Latin American business has thrived. His strong leadership, international experience and familiarity with our company make him uniquely qualified for this position within [A-B] InBev."
He added, "I have known and respected Dave Peacock for quite some time, and am confident he is the ideal person to lead the [A-B] U.S. operations going forward as part of [A-B] InBev. His knowledge of [A-B's] brands, as well as the people and process behind the brands, will prove invaluable to the successful integration of these two leading global brewers."
InBev and A-B announced a definitive merger agreement on July 13, 2008, which is subject to A-B and InBev shareholder approvals and review by competition authorities in a number of jurisdictions. InBev shareholders approved the transaction on September 29. The appointments are effective upon closure of the transaction, which is expected by yearend 2008.
InBev is a publicly traded company based in Leuven, Belgium. It manages a segmented portfolio of more than 200 brands, including Stella Artois, Beck's, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Skol, Quilmes, Sibirskaya Korona, Chernigivske, Sedrin, Cass and Jupiler.
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