Carlos Brito (born 1960) is the inaugural CEO of the current no. 1 brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, he holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and an MBA from Stanford University business school.[1]
Brito has worked for Shell Oil and Daimler Benz before joining, in 1989, Brazilian beer and soft drinks company Brahma,[2] which, in 1999, merged with Companhia Antarctica Paulista to form AmBev.[3]
He held various positions in Finance, Operations, and Sales, before being appointed Chief Executive Officer in January 2004. After InBev was formed in August 2004, Brito was nominated Zone President North America and he moved into the company's top spot of Chief Executive Officer in December 2005, where he implemented a strategy based on cost-cutting.
In 2008, after successful takeover of Anheuser-Busch, Brito took the CEO position of the enlarged group.Anheuser-Busch InBev - 2008 Press Releases[4]
In a one-on-one interview with the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Brito promised to keep many aspects of Anheuser-Busch the same but also said that he could improve the marketing of the brands sold by Anheuser-Busch.[5] Steve Parker of the Post-Dispatch reported that, after the paper put the interview with Brito on Page 1 of the publication, three callers sent negative feedback, stating that the paper should not have given prominence to the interview; Parker added that similar negative comments were being posted in response to a blog entry about Brito. The comments reflected a negative attitude towards the Brito takeover of Anheuser-Busch. Parker defended the paper's decision to publish the interview.[6]