August A. Bush IV
| August Busch IV | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August Adolphus Busch IV June 15, 1964 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupation | Board member of Anheuser-Busch InBev, former president and CEO, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. |
| Spouse(s) | Kathryn "Kate" Thatcher (2006-2009) divorced |
| Parent(s) | August Busch III and Susan (Hornibrook) Busch |
August Adolphus Busch IV (born June 15, 1964) is an American businessman and former CEO of Anheuser-Busch. He was the last of the family to control the company, which was purchased in a hostile takeover in 2008 by InBev.
He is a great-great-grandson of Anheuser-Busch founder Adolphus Busch, and a great-great-great-grandson of Eberhard Anheuser who originally purchased the brewery in 1860. He is the son of Susan (Hornibrook) and August Busch III, the former chairman, president and CEO of the company.
Busch's parents divorced when he was five, and he lived with his mother. His time with his father was mostly spent at the brewery and their relationship was, for the most part, professional.
After graduation he followed the family tradition of starting at the bottom of Anheuser-Busch. He worked as a brewing apprentice in the Old Malt House as a union member of Brewers & Maltsters Local 6 in St. Louis, Missouri, as an intern in the culture yeast center, and later as a foreman in packaging and shipping operations.
In 1989, he moved into marketing, working on the Bud Dry brand launch. Although the launch was considered a success, the product ultimately proved to be unsuccessful.
Busch's father initially opposed the campaign; he later admitted "I've lost the ability to understand the 21- to 30-year-olds the way I used to."
In 2002, Busch (and other family members) were passed over when the company named Patrick Stokes as its first non-family president and CEO. Busch's father had said that he owns 1% of the stock and that the "board of directors calls the shots" at the company.
Busch became president and CEO effective December 2006. Busch's father had been criticized for not expanding globally and leaving the company open for acquisition. In 2007, August and the directors began discussions to acquire Diageo but the deal never advanced.
Less than 18 months into Busch's tenure, rumors circulated that InBev was attempting to buy the company. In April 2008, Busch told beer distributors that Anheuser-Busch would never be bought "on my watch." A-B stock had closed at $49.20 on April 30, 2008. InBev offered $65 per share in June, and Busch refused. Prior to InBev's offer, A-B's stock had never been higher than $51.97. In hopes of keeping its independence, Busch proposed acquiring the remaining 50% it did not own of Grupo Modelo. InBev then said it would not include Busch in the new company board, but would include his uncle Adolphus Busch IV, who had favored the deal. Eventually InBev sweetened its bid to $70 per share and kept Busch on the board.
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