48 senior women leaders were invited to participate in the inaugural AB InBev Global Women’s Leadership Program. The program combined executive roundtable discussions, one-to-one executive coaching, immersive small group development experiences, and a landmark capstone event.
Program content was expert led and user-centric: key topics were proposed, and participants voted on the content they wanted the program to include. Topics included Leading Through Uncertainty, How to Develop Agile Teams, How to Build Role- and Career-Legacy, and Influence and Negotiation with Senior Stakeholders.
The program tracked key measures associated with leadership success at the company. Insights were used to inform adaptive program content and experiences. The program was delivered during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and its agility enabled the right content to be delivered at the right time to drive leadership impact.
AB InBev
Global Women's
Leadership Program
Women leaders in the corporate world face greater challenges than their male counterparts. From the “broken rung” in the step up to manager, to allyship gaps and reduced access to key internal networks, women leaders often face structural issues that impact their career advancement. On a daily basis, many senior women leaders deal with further obstacles: unconscious bias, microaggressions, and not being taken seriously. The net result is the underrepresentation of women in the corporate world, especially in functions seen as critical to qualify for CEO and board-level appointments (including Sales, R&D, and Operations).
AB InBev prides itself on leadership that grows at the pace of its talent. The organization wanted a program that provided networking opportunities, career management advice and strategies, and individualized opportunities to advance leadership strengths. We partnered with them to deliver this program, which took place from March to December 2020.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is a multinational drink and brewing conglomerate headquartered in Leuven, Belgium.
Formed in 2008 through the merger of Belgian brewing company InBev with US-based Anheuser-Busch, AB InBev currently accounts for around 30% of global beer sales volume, operating more than 600 beer brands in 150 countries.
With a strong history of global M&A, AB InBev acquired British multinational competitor SABMiller in 2015 to become one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods companies in the world. The three core values of Dream, People, Culture run through each of its subsidiaries and bring together 175,000 employees globally.
AB InBev is committed to best-in-class leadership development and it measures its teams by their quality and diversity. The purpose of the global women’s leadership program was to explore and master new leadership capabilities with the feedback and support of experts. There were four main pillars:
1. Foster connection and collaboration between women senior leaders through networking opportunities;
2. Navigate any challenges women face using strategic and tactical advice;
3. Drive leadership goals through personalized development and one-to-one executive coaching; and
4. Discover and leverage leaders’ hidden strengths using validated psychometric assessment.
Participant, Vice President
A best-in-class women's leadership program
Developing a legacy of strong female leaders at AB InBev
The AB InBev Global Women’s Leadership Program developed a strong network of senior women leaders. All measures selected to track program success improved, and the program achieved a very high NPS. We were invited to run the program for a second year.
In 2021, the second cohort of senior women leaders have got access to new content and experiences, including Leading Through CEO Transition and on-demand Masterclasses (for example, Overcome Imposter Syndrome). With two program cohorts, an alumni community has been established with special events and one-to-one “matchmaking” to support career growth
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