CEO as Change Agent

<< Previous

“People talk about the fact that people resist change. They don't resist change. They resist being changed. Change is a constant. It's not a variable. It's really about how you enable change to happen, and it's got to be an environment to enable change.”¹

- Norman Adami, President and CEO, Miller Brewing Company, in 2006.

“The arrival of Norman (Adami) is a seminal moment. He helped take away $10 billion to $12 billion in [AB's] market cap.”²

– Anthony J. Bucalo, Analyst, Bear Stearns³, in 2006.

In 2002, the South African brewing major South African Brewing Company (SAB) acquired one of the leading brewing companies of the US – Miller Brewing Company (MBC) – to form SABMiller, Plc (SABMiller). In the 1970s, MBC was an aggressive player in the beer market but gradually lost its edge by the late 1990s. Though it was one of the oldest and most renowned brewing companies in the US, the period between 1990 and 2002 saw stagnation in the sales of MBC, while its arch rival Anheuser-Busch4 (AB) went from strength to strength. While MBC was finding it hard to increase its beer sales beyond 43 million barrels throughout that decade, AB increased its beer sales by around 27.9 million barrels between 1999 and 20025.

MBC's new product launches, such as 'Miller Clear'beer also failed to make an impact in the market. Its relationship with distributors also deteriorated. In 2002, MBC showed a 1.2⁵ percent decline in revenues as compared to 2001...

Caselet 2: Myron E Ullman And Jcpenney - Next Page>>

---

Custom Search

---

Leadership and Change Management Textbook Textbooks Collection	Leadership in Practice Case Volume Case Study Volumes Collection

1]  “Inside the “Able Challenger” Strategy,” www.businessweek.com, May 29, 2006.

2]  “Miller Brewing: It's Norman Time,” www.businessweek.com, May 29, 2006.

3]  Bear Stearns is one of the largest and well-known global investment banks, and securities trading and brokerage firms in the world.

4]  Anheuser-Busch, based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, is the world's third largest brewing company in volume, after InBev and SABMiller, and the largest in the US. The company brews over 65 different beers and malt liquors. Anheuser-Busch's best known beers include brands such as Budweiser, Busch, Michelob, and Natural Light.

5]  In 1999, the worldwide sales of AB's beer brands were around 100 million barrels, while in 2002 it was 127.9 million barrels (AB's international equity partners'brands included). (Source: http://www.anheuser-busch.com/annual/2002/ab10k.pdf)