Global beer cos kick off top-level inductions here

BANGALORE: The people churn in the beer industry is gathering momentum with global giants Anheuser Busch (A-B), makers of Budweiser, and Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), Heineken���s Singapore arm, beginning to effect top-level inductions. APB roped in Ravi Kaza as chief operating officer (COO) to head the operational management.

Mr Kaza, an ex-UB honcho, will be in charge of the integrated sales and marketing functions reporting into Vivek Chhabra, who overlooks India operations from the Singapore headquarters. APB acquired Aurangabad Breweries last year for $18 million bringing brands like Arlem and Cannon into the fold. Mr Kaza joined APB after a brief stint as chief executive with Ramesh Vangal-promoted Mason & Summers.

A-B, meanwhile, has made the first move with the induction of S Cariappa as the manufacturing head. Mr Cariappa, ranked amongst the best brew masters in this part of the world, is returning from a sabbatical after he quit the SABMiller India system, where he was a key manufacturing honcho. It must be mentioned that Mr Cariappa is credited with crafting Cobra Beer, a $200 million asset based out of UK. NRI millionaire Karan Billimoria-founded Cobra was initially brewed in Mysore Breweries, where Mr Cariappa was the manufacturing head.

Sources said A-B was also likely to make another induction from the United Breweries (UB) Group. As reported by ET earlier, A-B is entering the country through an equal joint venture with Crown Breweries in Hyderabad. Sources said A-B has placed Robert Newman, marketing head for Europe and Middle-East, in charge of its India plans.

With A-B, Carlsberg and APB firming up India foray, the domestic beer industry is set to witness significant management changes. The sector has seen management stability for a long time, as even SABMiller that is posing a serious challenge to UB���s market dominance stayed away from poaching from the rival camps. SABMiller scripted a HR policy that looked for operational hands from outside the sector.

���The pool of qualified senior management resources in the brewing industry is limited, which makes poaching an expensive proposition in a consolidated industry. Hence, some of these invading giants would be forced to look at people from the larger FMCG sector,��� said UB Bhat, an industry consultant and expert.

APB, which also has a separate JV with Pepsi bottler CK Jaipuria, has also roped in Vinay Mathur as its chief financial officer (CFO). Besides, APB has also inducted a few mid-management hands from Foster���s India for its regional operations.