A top marketing officer for the parent company of Bud Light stepped down this week more than a half year after the company’s decision to partner with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. Anheuser-Busch Chief Marketing Officer Benoit Garbe will step down amid the company’s declining sales and stock price.
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth announced the personnel change in a statement. He said that the company’s move was intended to “reduce layers within our organization and better enable our top commercial leaders to drive our business and legacy forward.”
Garbe is leaving the position after a two-year tenure.
Whitworth further said that the changes would help the company “accelerate our return to growth as we continue to focus on what we do best — brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter.”
The company said that Garbe would “embark on a new chapter in his career.”
Anheuser-Busch’s U.S. chief marketing officer Benoit Garbe is leaving after the company reported a 29% decline in U.S. third-quarter earnings and backlash against Bud Light continues.
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Bud Light’s partnership with the social media influencer resulted in a swift backlash from consumers, with the company’s beer sales falling by as much as a third.
Separately, the beer brand lost its title as the most popular beer in the country, which is now held by Modelo Especial. Other Anheuser-Busch brands, such as Budweiser saw a decline in sales.
Following the April announcement, the company announced several other departures, but none as senior as Garbe.
Less than one month after the Mulvaney partnership was announced, Daniel Blake, an executive for marketing in the company took a leave from his position.
Also let go was Alissa Heinerscheid, the former Vice President of Marketing. Heinerscheid reportedly played a key role in the beer brand’s Mulvaney marketing.
Heinerscheid stated that the partnership was part of an effort to “evolve and elevate” the brand.
She said that Bud Light’s brand had been “in decline” and “if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand, there will be no future for Bud Light.”
The former executive also said that Bud Light “had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important we had another approach.”
