AB InBev chief marketing officer quits following Bud Light sales dip

The US chief marketing officer for Anheuser-Busch, Benoit Garbe, has resigned from the role and leaves the business at the end of the year.

The decision, which follows the company seeing its Bud Light brand plummet in sales after its partnership with a transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, will see Garbe, “embark on a new chapter in his career,” according to a statement released by the beer giant.

The beer company has seen drastically declining sales connected to its Bud Light brand since the spring. The situation, which saw conservative drinkers vowing to boycott the beer brand after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted about it on her Instagram also led to a backlash from LGBTQ+ rights groups alleging the company didn’t do enough to support her.

Mulvaney then publicly shared how she felt abandoned by the company after facing “more bullying and transphobia” due to the partnership.

Bud Light continues to lose market share in the US to brands such as Modelo Especial, which recently overtook Bud Light in sales for the first time.

Now there are due to be fewer people to guide the brand’s marketing, reports indicate that the plan is for the company’s US chief commercial officer Kyle Norrington to “oversee and be fully dedicated to all aspects of its marketing activities”.

In addition, two other sales leads will soon also report to Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth with the hope that the changes will “reduce layers” within the organisation.

Speaking about the reshuffle, Whitworth insisted: “These senior leadership changes will 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.”

Back in July, AB InBev laid off hundreds of workers across its US corporate staff after months of decline for its Bud Light brand. AB InBev stated at the time that the job cuts would “simplify and reduce layers” within the business and referred to the job cuts simply as new “corporate structure changes” for the beer company.