Michel Doukeris, from Santa Catarina, has been leading the brewery AB InBev for four years, a giant with 144,000 employees and annual revenues of $60 billion. During this period, the market value of the company, which owns brands like Corona and Stella Artois, has fluctuated up and down by up to 60%, but it remains around US$120 billion.

This signals that volatility has become a new normal in a world with growing threats and opportunities. Doukeris took over during the pandemic and then had to deal with changes in the consumption habits of Generation Z, political polarization, and tariff hikes.

To manage a giant in an increasingly fragmented world, he travels 180 days a year, visiting employees, clients, and politicians. In an interview with EXAME at Ambev's headquarters, where he is president of the board of directors, he says that he needs to have the humility to learn in order to stay updated.

What goes into the agenda of a CEO of a global giant to see where the world is heading?

My agenda is extremely organized. Next year’s is 100% planned, and one-third of the next three years is already set. It’s not an exaggeration, it’s true. Beyond the big commitments, I always include other priorities in my trips. They may differ by country, but there is a set of very similar things. One of the most important things is talking to people. On this trip to Brazil, we had a big leadership meeting, and I spent 3 hours talking to people. After 30 years of talking 5 minutes with ten people a day, I can feel the vibe of the office, the country. I also always spend part of my time understanding what is happening with consumers, what trends are emerging, what is working, and what isn’t. We have this tradition, being a consumer goods business, of visiting supermarkets, bars, and restaurants, talking to owners and managers, checking if our products are on the shelves, if our innovations are working.

How does your personal perspective impact the definition of actions?

I’ll give you an example. After many years, I came to spend some holidays in Brazil, in Garopaba, with my family. One day, I was walking on the beach and saw a restaurant with a line. I decided to join the line to see what was going on. It was 11:30 a.m., and they were selling one of our gluten-free beers, Stella Artois, outside the usual hours. I spoke to the owner and the people there. They said everyone was asking for it. That same day, I called our team: it's selling, people loved it, get ready because it’s a success. We try to understand the macro context, but we need to go down to the bar, to the restaurant, to see where the business is happening.

How many days a year do you travel?

On average, 180 days a year. It seems like the pandemic is in the past, right?

The world is demanding physical presence again...

Even during the pandemic, I didn’t stop. During the pandemic, I made a routine of visiting factories that kept operating in most parts of the world. We implemented a standard in the United States for the safety of people, which was copied by government agencies. What I thought was my part was to visit all the factories to make sure the protocol was implemented and that we were doing everything we could. I made more than 50 trips during the pandemic.

What have the most recent trips shown about trends in the beverage market?

Our main business is beer, even though in Brazil, we have a huge non-alcoholic business. But globally, our main business is beer. It is and will continue to be. We invest in things happening within and around the beer category. Today's consumer wants to socialize, have fun, exercise, binge-watch series, and go out. They are not just consumers who work, go to the bar, and go home. They have a wider range of activities. The choices we’ve made in recent years to innovate in our portfolio, with liquids that have fewer calories, no sugar, gluten-free, and alcohol-free, have opened a huge number of new doors. In Brazil, gluten-free and alcohol-free products are the main drivers. On the other side of the world, in South Korea, sugar-free beer is a trend. In the U.S., it's about fewer carbs and calories. All within a platform we call "balanced choices." This business has already generated over $5 billion in revenue and is growing in double digits, increasing occasions and opportunities for people to interact with brands.

How does digital innovation fit into this strategy?

In Brazil, we have a digital product for beer delivery in 30 minutes, called Zé Delivery. We’ve also digitized our contact with points of sale. In my time, we had a route book showing what the bar owners were buying. Now it’s all on an app, the Bees app, and the retailer places orders directly. We have more partner companies, which makes the retailer have more visibility into the mix, making them more competitive, even with credit offerings. The customers who use our app grow more than those who don’t. This way, everyone grows.

What’s the logic behind innovation? What’s the strategy for deciding what to do and what not to do?

Our first ambition is to lead and expand the beer category because it’s important for the ecosystem. We have farmers, factories, distributors, and retailers. The second pillar is to digitalize the ecosystem to create more revenue opportunities. This is where Zé Delivery comes in because you might be at home watching a game and not want to go out to buy. But you can order from us, and we will direct it to the bar. The bar creates business, and we do too. The technology products are meant to reinforce our ecosystem. This applies to our partners, such as chocolate or dairy companies. The third area of innovation is what we call ready-to-drink beverages, like Skol Beats. We have some variations around the world. We recently launched a beer with lemon juice, for example. We’ve been innovating around our core. That’s the philosophy.

I know the topic of Generation Z is important to you. Many studies show that this consumer drinks less. What’s your long-term view?

Generation Z is important to me for several reasons, including the fact that I have two Zs at home. I have a daughter and a son, 23 and 20 years old. There are a number of studies on these consumers. I always remind people that one of the fundamental things that has defined this generation is the pandemic. This generation, aged 20 to 25, spent two to three years locked in a room at the beginning of adulthood. Then, they started working from home or in a hybrid system. My daughter recently asked me how to behave at a work happy hour. So much of what we call social skills, which you and I learned in practice, they couldn't experience. They go less to restaurants and bars, but they love going to music and sports events, and they are interacting with different categories at different times. What we’ve learned is that as they mature, start working, and dating, their behaviors normalize. One of the significant opportunities is alcohol-free beer, which has a much larger share of this audience than it did in the past.

Has the beer market peaked?

The numbers we see show that the beer market will continue growing. And that beer is advancing in alcoholic occasions. In Brazil, the projection is very similar, helped by demographics: a growing population, economy, and income. If people have financial means, they will consume more often. And these innovations we bring, with balanced choices and premium products, open more occasions for consumption. Brazil is still a country where much consumption happens on Fridays and Saturdays. In more developed countries, you’ll see people having dinner at home and drinking their Stella Artois or having an afternoon with friends, drinking their Leffe or Corona. There are many occasions still untapped around the world.

What is it like to be the CEO of a company with exposure to so many countries in a world that is reorganizing?

Being the CEO of a global company and being able to see everything that’s happening is a great privilege. I have the opportunity to be in Brazil one day, talking to a bar owner who lives the local economy, and the next day be in Europe or the U.S., talking to a politician discussing new trade rules or a country’s priorities. It’s a privilege to see the economy in such a comprehensive way. Geopolitical impacts are relevant, but our product is local: 98% of what we sell around the world, we produce locally. We have malt farms in Brazil, malt houses, can and bottle factories.

AB InBev and Ambev are known for their culture focused on efficiency and meritocracy. In recent years, we've seen that employees have started valuing other attributes. Has the company’s culture changed along with the world?

I’ve always thought that the definition of Ambev's culture was exaggerated from one angle. It’s a performance culture, not one of exaggerations, as it was dramatized in recent years. One of the coolest things in Brazil was the evolution of Ambev into a company that learns everything and doesn’t know everything. We know what we do well and what we don’t. And we like to learn. Our company has grown over the years in an inorganic way. We bought a company here, bought another there. Now we work to grow organically. And that requires learning from the consumer, from the sales point manager, learning if the truck is running well. Around the world, our points of sale give us feedback every week. Collaboration is very present; we talk about meritocracy in teams, not individuals. I’ve been here for 30 years, and if I had to choose again, I would make the same choice. A company with very ethical and solid values. Of course, we need to work every day to maintain that.

The text was translated with artificial intelligence. If you have any questions or corrections, please write to rafael.balago (at) exame.com."