August Busch IV to not seek reelection – move ends official Busch family involvement
August Busch IV will step down as a director of Anheuser-Busch InBev next month, ending his family’s direct involvement with the world’s largest brewer.
“For personal and health reasons August Busch IV has decided not to seek re-election at the annual shareholders meeting,” Anheuser spokeswoman Marianne Amssoms said in an emailed statement.
The maker of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Becks will hold its general shareholders meeting on April 26 in Belgium, where it is based.
Busch IV was chief executive of St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch when it got taken over by InBev in 2008, forming the world’s largest brewer.
Busch was again thrust into the public spotlight late last year after his girlfriend died at his home due to an accidental overdose of the painkiller oxycodone, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Anheuser’s hometown newspaper.
In a January interview with the media Busch said he had been in rehabilitation early in 2010 for depression and “other issues,” on which he would not elaborate.
Following Busch’s departure there will be no Busch family members on the board or in senior management positions.