Anheuser-Busch is reportedly restructuring its management team after several tumultuous weeks.
Bud Light vice president of marketing Alissa Heinersheid is now believed to be on leave, according to an April 21 newsletter from Beer Daily Business. Heinersheid took over the role in June 2022 as the first woman to lead marketing for Bud Light in the brand’s history, per Ad age.
Former Budweiser Global Vice President of Marketing Todd Allen has been named Bud Light’s new Vice President of Marketing and will report directly to CMO Benoit Garbe.
The move follows a recent boycott by conservative drinkers after Bud Light offered trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney a can of beer with his face on it. After weeks of public backlash on social media, including transphobic tweets and videos of Bud Light beers being destroyed, the brand released a public statement before announcing a new direction.
The alcohol giant shared additional details of the personnel changes with Beer Business Daily:
“Today we communicated next steps with our internal teams and wholesale partners. First, we made it clear that the safety and well-being of our employees and partners is our top priority. Second , Todd Allen is named Vice President of Bud Light and reports directly to Benoit Garbe, US Chief Marketing Officer Third, we have made some adjustments to streamline the structure of our marketing function to reduce layers so that our most successful marketers experienced people are more closely linked to all aspects of our brands’ business. These steps will help us stay focused on the things we do best: brewing great beer for all consumers, while always having a positive impact on our communities and our country.”
The VP of Marketing recently appeared on the lifestyle podcast Make yourself at home, where she discussed opening up Bud Light to a wider audience and cleaning up the brand’s “fratty” image. Heinerscheid supervisor Daniel Blake is also believed to have taken time off, according to the the wall street journal.
Recent sales data illustrates a significant loss for Bud Light and related brands. During the week of April 9, NielsenIQ documented a 17% drop in Bud Light’s sales value and a 21% drop in volume, as Beer Business Daily writes in its Bulletin of April 24.