GOUDET JOINS JAB HOLDING

ANHEUSER-BUSCH InBev chairperson Olivier Goudet is stepping down from the world’s largest brewer to focus on his roles as managing partner and chief executive at coffee giant JAB Holding. Goudet’s departure illustrates the growing market sway that JAB has accumulated in the beverage and restaurant industries. The investment company, which counts the billionaire Reimann family among its backers, has snapped up chains such as Caribou Coffee, Panera Bread and Pret A Manger. AB InBev had grown concerned about a potential conflict of interest, because of Goudet’s role at JAB, according to a person familiar with the matter. The investment company manages a joint venture between Keurig Dr Pepper and AB InBev that makes a pod-based cocktail machine that could compete with the brewer’s own alcoholic beverages. Goudet’s increasingly busy schedule at JAB, where chairperson Bart Becht is retiring and ceding more responsibilities to other executives, also played a role in the decision, the person said. Goudet is stepping down a year before his four-year term was due to end. A successor and other board members will be announced at the annual meeting on April 24, the brewer said. The shares were little changed early yesterday in Brussels. “The board’s succession plan has been developed since last year and we have been working with Mr Goudet on a smooth transition,” AB InBev said. While management of day-to-day strategy at AB InBev rests firmly with chief executive Carlos Brito, Goudet has stepped in to help secure some of the company’s most defining initiatives.