The day I knocked on the door of Budweiser’s former CEO
A saga that started in St. Louis, the American brewery’s headquarters, and ended with the unexpected help of an Uber driver
“I’m writing a book about the Brazilians who bought Budweiser in 2008”, I said on July 7, 2018, around 2 pm.
I was excited. I was celebrating my most recent achievement, smiling and talking casually with the Uber driver who was taking me to St. Louis airport — the city that houses Budweiser’s headquarters. I had just left the club where I spent two hours with one of the most important sources of my book — the independent biography of AB Inbev, the global biggest brewer — Dave Peacock, Anheuser-Busch’s (that owns Budweiser brand) former Marketing Vice-President. It was his first interview about his experience in the company. I was heading to New York where I had other invaluable interviews scheduled.
“And what about the flavor, did it change since Inbev [Ambev and Interbrew merger, in 2004] bought the company?”, I asked the driver during the ride as I asked many people during the three times I went to the United States because of my book. “And the corporative culture? And the business? What do Americans think now about the takeover and the changes carried out by Brazilians and Belgians?”.
The Uber driver patiently answered all of my questions. No, the flavor hasn’t changed, he said. But people were afraid that would happen and many stopped drinking Bud after it went to Brazilians and Belgians. The changings concerned the business, and management seems better — that was his opinion.
“Would you like to speak to John Smith*?”, he asked me. I didn’t know that person. So, I googled it and found out he was an important PR. “He is close to the Busch family”, and to former stockholders of Anheuser-Busch, the driver added. “Of course”, I answered. So, he parked the car at the airport and called John in front of me. I admit that I thought: “If he is actually close to the Busch family, he is not telling me anything about them. If he is not, I don’t have anything to talk with him”.
John surprised me. It was so much better than I ever could have imagined. After a quick conversation, I sent him an email with some information about the book and my career. Some days later, on July 23, he sent me an email I’ll never forget:
“Adolphus Busch IV is willing to speak to you”.
Adolphus was the only family member who supported the takeover. He is August IV’s uncle — August IV, in turn, was AB’s CEO when Inbev bought the company, a very polemic and inaccessible person.
I recorded 25 minutes of a phone interview with Adolphus. He told me about the first time he met Carlos Brito, AB Inbev’s global CEO, and his impressions (it’s all in the book). At the end of the call, I asked: “If I go to the US again, can we talk in person?”.
In December 2018, I flew to the US again. This time, I went to Florida, where Adolphus had just moved to. I met a Brazilian photographer, Alex Korolkovas, we rent a car and drove from Miami airport to Marathon, a two-hour ride, listening to David Bowie and enjoying the paradisiac beach scenery from the bridges along the way.
It was one of the most remarkable moments of my career. I was feeling blessed to be doing what I love for a living, getting help from unexpected sources and doing unexpected things. I felt thankful for the opportunity to write about the most impressive story of capitalism while having so much fun.
After a great interview with Adolphus, we were almost leaving when I asked an unpretentious question: “And what about your nephew? Have you seen him lately?”. No, he said. Just on the news. “But he lives in Key West, an hour from here”. I looked to Alex, the photographer, and we had the same idea.
Yes, we went there. Adolphus didn’t have his address, but he gave us the directions.
On December 8, around 7 pm, we parked on Key West, close to the place Adolphus had told us about. We walked down several streets, knocking on the wrong doors and asking people who crossed our way about August’s house. An hour later, an elegant lady finally brought our quest to an end: she pointed to a big house across hers: “He lives there”.
When I saw August IV going down the stairs towards us, I said: “August, I came all the way from Brazil to speak with you”.
It was true, I just didn’t know that until one hour before. He smiled and we talked briefly.
What did he say? You have to read my book to find it out. :-)
The conversation is there, as well as a number of new stories, analyses and reflections about the company, its people, the market and the recent changings in the industry.
I’m eager to know your opinion about the book and about this story. Share your thoughts with us if you feel like it.
*The name was changed to preserve the person’s privacy
#beer; #business; #abinbev; #management; #corporativeculture; #companyculture
