Anheuser-Busch InBev's board is composed of three independent directors, nine members appointed by the Stichting Anheuser-Busch InBev (a foundation organised under the laws of the Netherlands, which represents an important part of the interests of the Belgian founding families of the Company and the interests of the Brazilian families previously shareholders of AmBev) and three members appointed by the Restricted Shareholders in accordance with the terms of our articles of association.
Independent Board Members
M. Michele Burns
Ms. Burns is an independent member of the Board. Born in 1958, she is an American citizen and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a Master's Degree in Accountancy. Ms. Burns was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mercer LLC from 2006 until 2012. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors of The Goldman Sachs Group, where she chairs the Compensation Committee, Cisco Systems, where she chairs the Finance Committee, Etsy and Circle Online Financial, a private company. From 2003 until 2013, she served as a director of Wal-Mart Stores. From 2014 until 2018, she served on the Board of Alexion Pharmaceuticals. She currently serves on the Advisory Council of the Stanford Center on Longevity at Stanford University. Ms. Burns began her career in 1981 at Arthur Andersen, where she became a partner in 1991. In 1999, she joined Delta Air Lines, assuming the role of Chief Financial Officer from 2000 to 2004. From 2004 to 2006, Ms. Burns served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer of Mirant Corporation, an independent power producer. From March 2006 until September 2006, Ms. Burns served as the Chief Financial Officer of Marsh and McLennan Companies.
Elio Leoni Sceti
Mr. Leoni Sceti is an independent member of the Board. Born in 1966, he is an Italian citizen who lives in the UK. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in Economics from LUISS in Rome, where he passed the Dottore Commercialista post-graduate bar exam. Mr. Leoni Sceti has over 30 years' experience in the fast-moving consumer goods and media sectors. He is Chief Crafter & Chairman of The Craftory, a global investment house for purpose-driven challenger brands in FMCG. Mr. Leoni Sceti is Chairman of London-based LSG holdings and an early stage investor in Media & Tech, with over 25 companies in his portfolio. He is also an independent member of the Board at cocoa and chocolate leader Barry Callebaut and is a director at the Kraft Heinz Company. Elio's roles in the non-profit space include being a Trustee and Counsellor at One Young World (young leaders from over 190 countries), and Chairman of the UK board at Room to Read (promoting literacy and gender equality in education, globally). His previous roles included: CEO of Iglo Group - whose brands are Birds Eye, Findus & Iglo - until May 2015, when the company was sold to Nomad Foods; Global CEO of EMI Music from 2008 to 2010; and - prior to EMI - an international career in marketing and senior leadership roles at Procter & Gamble and Reckitt Benckiser, where he later was CMO, global head of Innovation and then head of the European operations.
Xiaozhi Liu
Dr. Liu is an independent member of the Board. Born in 1956 in China, she is a German citizen and is the founder and CEO of ASL Automobile Science & Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. since 2009 and is an independent director of Autoliv (NYSE) and Johnson Matthey Plc. Previously, she held various senior executive positions, including Chairman & CEO of Neotek (China), Vice-Chairman and CEO of Fuyao Glass Group, Chairman and CEO of General Motors Taiwan, Director of concept vehicle for Buick Park Avenue and Cadillac, Vehicle Electronics-Control and Software Integration for GM North America, CTO and Chief Engineer of General Motors Greater China Region, and Representative Managing Director of Delphi Automotive in Shanghai China. Prior to 1997, she was responsible for Delphi Packard China JV Development, Sales & Marketing as well as New Business Development. Besides these executive roles, Dr. Liu also served as an independent director of CAEG (SGX) from 2009 to 2011 and an independent director of Fuyao Glass Group (SSE) from 2013 to 2019. Dr. Liu has rich professional experience covering the areas of general management of enterprises, P&L, technology development, marketing & sales, mergers & acquisitions, including in the United States, Europe and China at global Top 500 companies and Chinese blue-chip private enterprises. She earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, a master's degree of Electrical Engineering at the University of Erlangen/Nuremberg Germany and a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at Xian Jiao Tong University in Xian China. She also attended the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business for Executives.
Representatives of the Main Shareholders
Sabine Chalmers
Ms. Chalmers is a representative of the main shareholders (nominated by Eugénie Patri Sébastien S.A., the holder of the Class A Stichting certificates). Born in 1965, Ms. Chalmers is an American citizen and holds a bachelor's degree in Law from the London School of Economics and is qualified to practice law in England and New York State. Ms. Chalmers is the General Counsel of BT Group plc. Prior to joining BT, she was the Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer & Secretary to the Board of Directors of AB InBev, a role she held from 2005 to 2017. Ms. Chalmers joined AB InBev after 12 years with Diageo plc where she held a number of senior legal positions including as General Counsel of the Latin American and North American businesses. Prior to Diageo plc, she was an associate at the law firm of Lovell White Durrant in London, specializing in mergers and acquisitions.
Paul Cornet de Ways Ruart
Mr. Cornet de Ways Ruart is a representative of the main shareholders (nominated by Eugénie Patri Sébastien S.A., the holder of the Class A Stichting certificates). Born in 1968, he is a Belgian citizen and holds a Master's Degree as a Commercial Engineer from the Catholic University of Louvain and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He has attended the Master Brewer program at the Catholic University of Louvain. From 2006 to 2011, he worked at Yahoo! and was in charge of Corporate Development for Europe before taking on additional responsibilities as Senior Financial Director for Audience and Chief of Staff. Prior to joining Yahoo!, Mr. Cornet was Director of Strategy for Orange UK and spent seven years with McKinsey & Company in London and Palo Alto, California. He is also a non-executive director of EPS, Rayvax, Adrien Invest, Floridienne S.A. and several privately held companies.
Claudio Garcia
Mr. Garcia is a representative of the main shareholders (nominated by BRC S.à.R.L., the holder of the class B Stichting certificates). Born in Brazil in 1968, he is a Brazilian citizen and is a graduate from Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a B.A. in Economics. Mr. Garcia interned at Companhia Cervejaria Brahma in 1991 and was employed as a Management Trainee in February 1993. From 1993 until 2001, Mr. Garcia worked in several positions in finance, mainly in the area of corporate budgeting. In 2001, he started the first Shared Service Center for Ambev and in 2003 he became the head of both the Technology and Shared Services operations. Mr. Garcia participated in all M&A integration projects from 1999 until 2018. In 2005, he was appointed Chief Information and Shared Service Officer for InBev (following the combination of Ambev and Interbrew) in Leuven, Belgium. From 2006 to 2014, Mr. Garcia combined the functions of Chief People and Technology Officer. From 2014 to January 2018, Mr. Garcia was the Chief People Officer of Anheuser-Busch InBev. Mr. Garcia is a board member of Lojas Americanas, the Garcia Family Foundation, Chairman of the Telles Foundation and a Trustee at the Chapin School in New York City.
Paulo Alberto Lemann
Mr. Lemann is a representative of the main shareholders (nominated by BRC S.à.R.L., the holder of the class B Stichting certificates). Born in Brazil in 1968, he is a Brazilian citizen and graduated from Faculdade Candido Mendes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a B.A. in Economics. Mr. Lemann interned at PriceWaterhouse in 1989 and was employed as an Analyst at Andersen Consulting from 1990 to 1991. Mr. Lemann also performed equity analysis while at Banco Marka and Dynamo Asset Management (both in Rio de Janeiro). From 1997 to 2004, he developed the hedge fund investment group at Tinicum Inc., a New York-based investment office that advised the Synergy Fund of Funds, where he served as Portfolio Manager. Mr. Lemann is a Founding Partner at Vectis Partners and is a board member of Lojas Americanas, Lemann Foundation and Lone Pine Capital.
Nitin Nohria
Mr. Nohria is a representative of the main shareholders (nominated by BRC S.à.R.L., the holder of the class B Stichting certificates). Born in 1962, he is an American citizen and graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Ph.D. in Management and from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, with a Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering. Mr. Nohria started his career as a faculty member of Harvard Business School in 1988 and served as its Dean from 2010 to 2020. He is currently Partner and Executive Chairman of Thrive Capital, a venture capital firm. Mr. Nohria also serves on the Boards of Directors of The Bridgespan Group, Mass General Brigham, and Rakuten Medical.
Cecilia Sicupira
Ms. Sicupira is a representative of the main shareholders (nominated by BRC S.à.R.L., the holder of the class B Stichting certificates). Born in 1981, she is a Brazilian citizen and is a graduate from the American University of Paris with a bachelor's degree in International Business Administration and of Harvard Business School's Owner/President Management (OPM) program. Ms. Sicupira currently serves on the board of Lojas Americanas S.A (BOVESPA: LAME4), where she is member of the Finance and People Committees, and of Ambev S.A (BOVESPA: ABEV3). She previously served on the board of Restaurant Brands International (NYSE: QSR) and of São Carlos Empreendimentos S.A. (BOVESPA: SCAR3). Ms. Sicupira began her career in 2004 as an analyst within Goldman Sachs' Investment Banking Division covering Latin America. Today she is a director and partner of LTS Investments.
Grégoire de Spoelberch
Mr. de Spoelberch is a representative of the main shareholders (nominated by Eugénie Patri Sébastien S.A., the holder of the Class A Stichting certificates). Born in 1966, he is a Belgian citizen and holds an MBA from INSEAD. Mr. de Spoelberch is an active private equity shareholder and his recent activities include shared Chief Executive Officer responsibilities for Lunch Garden, the leading Belgian self-service restaurant chain. He is a member of the board of several family-owned companies, such as Eugénie Patri Sébastien S.A., Verlinvest and Cobehold (Cobepa). He is also an administrator of the Baillet-Latour Fund, a foundation that encourages social, cultural, artistic, technical, sporting, educational and philanthropic achievements.
Alexandre Van Damme
Mr. Van Damme is a representative of the main shareholders (nominated by Eugénie Patri Sébastien S.A., the holder of the Class A Stichting certificates). Born in 1962, he is a Belgian citizen and graduated from Solvay Business School, Brussels. Mr. Van Damme joined the beer industry early in his career and held various operational positions within Interbrew until 1991, including Head of Corporate Planning and Strategy. He has managed several private venture holding companies and is currently a director of several family-owned companies such as Patri S.A. (Luxembourg). He is a member of the Board of the Kraft Heinz Company.
Representatives of the Restricted Shareholders
Martin J. Barrington
Mr. Barrington is a representative of the Restricted Shareholders. Born in 1953, he is an American citizen and graduated from The College of Saint Rose with a Bachelor's Degree in History, and from Albany Law School of Union University with a Juris Doctorate Degree. He is the retired Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Altria Group. During his 25 years at Altria Group, he served in numerous legal and business roles for Altria and its companies. These include Vice Chairman of Altria Group; Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Altria Group; Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Philip Morris International (a separate public company spun-off from Altria Group in 2008); and Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Philip Morris USA. Before joining Altria, Mr. Barrington practiced law in both the government and private sectors.
William F. Gifford
Mr. Gifford is a representative of the Restricted Shareholders. Born in 1970, he is an American citizen and graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor's Degree in Accountancy. He serves as Chief Executive Officer of Altria Group. Prior to his current position, Mr. Gifford served as Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Altria Group from May 2018 until April 2020 with responsibility for overseeing Altria's financial functions, core tobacco businesses and sales and distribution business. Prior to that he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from March 2015 until May 2018. Since joining Philip Morris USA, an Altria subsidiary, in 1994, he has served in numerous leadership roles including President and Chief Executive Officer of Philip Morris USA and Vice President and Treasurer for Altria, and has led various functions including Finance, Strategy & Business Development and Market Information & Consumer Research. Prior to joining Philip Morris USA, Mr. Gifford worked at the public accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand, which currently is known as PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Alejandro Santo Domingo
Mr. Santo Domingo is a representative of the Restricted Shareholders. Born in 1977, he is a Colombian citizen and obtained a B.A. in History from Harvard College. He is a Senior Managing Director at Quadrant Capital Advisors, Inc. in New York City. He was a member of the Board of Directors of SABMiller Plc, where he was also Vice-Chairman of SABMiller Plc for Latin America. Mr. Santo Domingo is Chairman of the Board of Bavaria S.A. in Colombia. He is Chairman of the Board of Valorem, a company which manages a diverse portfolio of industrial & media assets in Latin America. Mr. Santo Domingo is also a director of JDE Peet's, ContourGlobal plc, LifeTime, Inc., Florida Crystals, the world's largest sugar refiner, Caracol TV, Colombia's leading broadcaster, El Espectador, a leading Colombian Daily, and Cine Colombia, Colombia's leading film distribution and movie theatre company. In the non-profit sector, he is Chair of the Wildlife Conservation Society and Fundacion Mario Santo Domingo. He is also a Member of the Board of Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a member of the Board of Channel Thirteen/WNET (PBS), a member of the Board of DKMS, a foundation dedicated to finding donors for leukemia patients, and he is a member of the Board of Fundacion Pies Descalzos. He is a member of Harvard University's Global Advisory Council (GAC) Mr. Santo Domingo is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Mount Sinai Health System.
Non-Executive Board Members
María Asuncion Aramburuzabala
Ms. Aramburuzabala is a non-executive member of the Board. Born in 1963, she is a citizen of Mexico and holds a degree in Accounting from ITAM (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de Mexico). She has served as CEO of Tresalia Capital since 1996. She is currently the chairperson of the Boards of Directors of Tresalia Capital, Abilia, Medistik and Red Universalia. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of Grupo Modelo and was formerly a member of the Grupo Modelo Board of Directors, and is currently on the Boards of Coty, Consejo Mexicano de Negocios and is an Advisory Board member of ITAM School of Business.
Board Committees
The Board is assisted by four Committees: The Audit Committee, the Finance Committee, the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration Committee. Board Committees meet to prepare matters for consideration by the Board. Membership is detailed below.
