Former Anheuser-Busch Executive Blasts Bud Light For Embracing Wokeism Over Capitalism

On Thursday, former Anheuser-Busch executive Anson Frericks published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal to blast his former company for embracing stakeholder capitalism after Anheuser-Busch marketing vice president Alissa Heinerscheid, the woman responsible for the partnership with transgender Dylan Mulvaney, was removed from her job.

Heinerscheild will be replaced by global marketing vice president Todd Allen after the company has lost billions of dollars in market cap over the past few weeks as conservatives across the United States have boycotted the company’s products, as previously reported by the DC Enquirer.

In addition to removing Heinerscheild, the company is also trying its best at damage control by hiring two D.C.-based consultants, Origin Advocacy consultants Sean McLean and Emily Lync, who are familiar with conservative circles in Washington. 

Both conservative consultants have worked either in the Trump administration or on Capitol Hill for Republican members of Congress.

In response to Bud Light’s attempt at damage control, the former company executive wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled, ‘Have a Cold Bud Light, Not a Woke One.’

“Anheuser-Busch is losing customers over Bud Light’s partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, but the company’s problem is more fundamental,” Frericks wrote. “The brewer has fallen in line with other companies engaged in ‘stakeholder capitalism,’ which prioritizes broad social issues over shareholder value.”

BUD LIGHT VP RESPONSIBLE FOR TRANSGENDER DYLAN MULVANEY PARTNERSHIP GETS BOOTED FROM HER JOB FOLLOWING BOYCOTT

Frericks went on to explain that Bud Light bought into using its brand to push social agendas rather than focusing on delivering a product that its customers would buy.

“Anheuser-Busch fell in line with the ESG fad, despite evidence showing it harms shareholder value,” the executive, who left the company in 2022, explained. “In 2020 it launched a Global Diversity and Inclusion Council. In 2021 it trained about 9,800 workers in ‘bias breaking’ and over 2,000 in ‘psychological safety.’ It subjected all senior executives to individualized ‘D&I’—diversity and inclusion—dashboards, tracking the demographic composition of their teams.”

Frericks went on to bash Heinerscheid who called the beer company “out of touch” and claimed that it had a “fratty image” rather than an “inclusive” one.

“Ms. Heinerscheid offended many Bud Light drinkers, who already appreciate that the beer is ‘Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy,’ whether at a football game, a barbecue, or, yes, a frat house,” Frericks explained, adding that the company should stay in its lane in order to avoid alienating customers.

Frericks concluded his piece by arguing that the only way for Bud Light to recover is to abandon stakeholder capitalism and “return to a strategy with proven success: focusing on the celebratory moments that bring people together and steering clear of divisive politics.”

The full op-ed can be viewed here.

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