August Busch IV

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.

Busch received a bachelor's degree in finance and later a master's degree in business administration from Saint Louis University.

He later served on the university's board of trustees.

In his early twenties, Busch earned a brewmaster's degree from Versuchs und Lehranstalt für Brauerei, a brewing institute in Berlin.

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.

August Adolphus Busch IV (born June 15, 1964) is an American businessman and former CEO of Anheuser-Busch.

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 1994, Busch was named vice president of brand management.

In 1996, he became vice president of marketing.

The ads, according to Fortune Magazine, helped Anheuser-Busch stock rise by 27% in 1996.

Team owner William DeWitt Jr.. said: “From the day we began planning for the new ballpark, we wanted to keep the name ‘Busch Stadium.' August Busch IV and Anheuser-Busch share our vision for continuing that tradition for our great fans and the entire St. Louis community.” Dewitt, as part of an ownership group, had purchased the team from the brewery in 1996.

By 1998, the company achieved its best sales year ever.

The Budweiser and Bud Light commercials won the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter every year from 1999 to 2008.

Busch IV focused the marketing department on humor, youth, animals, and tradition.

He insisted to his father that his department could make splashy—yet risky—ads targeted at a younger demographic.

That led to the creation of the Budweiser Frogs advertising campaign featuring puppet frogs chirping "Bud", "Weis", and "Er".

Other campaigns overseen by Busch IV featured a friendly alligator, a sinister penguin with the catchphrase "doobie doobie do", partying ants, and a self-absorbed lizard named Louie.

Busch was promoted in 2000 to group vice president of marketing and wholesale operations.

Under his leadership, the company emphasized more creative and often humorous advertising.

In an interview with Fortune magazine, he recounted a conversation with his father August Busch III, then the company's president and CEO, that Budweiser sales would grow only if the iconic brand's identity was reinvented.

"There was a culture weaved into the Budweiser brand... No one wanted to change it," Busch IV told the magazine.

The new advertising campaigns launched by Busch IV cemented his reputation for marketing instincts.

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.

In 2004, as president of the company, Busch IV announced the brewer had purchased the 20-year naming rights to a new Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals.

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.

He was the last of the family to control the company, which was purchased in a hostile takeover in 2008 by InBev.

Busch IV was known for his marketing leadership, where his history as head of the Anheuser-Busch marketing department garnered ten straight USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter awards, as well as awards at Cannes and the Grand Clio.

He also served as a director of shipping giant FedEx.

Busch has been involved in a number of legal incidents during his lifetime.

In April 2008, Busch told beer distributors that Anheuser-Busch would never be bought "on my watch."