• Ad Age, Thursday, September 28, 2006 12:45 PM

August Busch IV was named president-CEO of Anheuser-Busch Cos. yesterday--replacing Patrick Stokes, who will succeed August Busch III as chairman of the company in December. As chief marketer for the brewer, Busch IV was responsible for the agency's memorable Budweiser frogs and "Whassup?!" campaigns, and also for the unsuccessful push behind Bud Dry. More recently, he has starred in ads for the upscale "Budweiser Select" light beer brand. He has been groomed for the top spot since youth, but the road to the top has been rocky, due to out-of-the-office issues that led critics to question his ability to run the company. The transition appears much smoother than the last Busch family handoff at A-B, however, when August III led a boardroom coup to oust his father. Busch IV attracted attention at the National Beer Wholesalers Association convention in Orlando, Fla. earlier this month by pointing to the continuing inroads that spirits companies have made with younger drinkers. Several wholesalers in attendance left convinced that he was laying the groundwork for a major spirits acquisition. Anheuser-Busch dominates the U.S. beer business with a nearly 49 percent market share.

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