OUR BOARD
Katie Barrett
Board Chair
Katie Barrett is the Chair of the Board for AB InBev Foundation as well as General Counsel for AB InBev. In her role as General Counsel, she is responsible for ensuring AB InBev is growing its business the right way and is committed to ethical and transparent operations. Katie holds a bachelor’s degree from Saint Louis University and a law degree from the University of Arizona. She joined the company in 2000. Prior to her current role, she was responsible for overseeing all legal issues in our North America Zone including commercial litigation, regulatory, labor relations, among other matters.
John Blood, JD
Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer and Corporate Secretary, AB InBev
John Blood joined AB InBev’s Global Legal team in 2009 where he served as a Vice President with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, compliance, and corporate law. He then served as the Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs for the North America Zone, where he drove the company’s legal and corporate affairs agenda for the United States and Canada. Most recently, John was the company’s global General Counsel before assuming his current role in July 2019 as Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer. Before joining AB InBev, John was Corporate Counsel for Diageo North America where he served as the principal lawyer for the company’s US spirits, wine, and beer business. Blood began his legal career as a commercial litigator at Dewey Ballantine in New York City.
Blood holds a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and a juris doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School.
Ezgi Barcenas
Chief Sustainability Officer, AB InBev
Ezgi Barcenas is the Chief Sustainability Officer for AB InBev. She is responsible for AB InBev’s sustainability vision and strategy, including the ambitious 2025 Sustainability Goals, which are integrated into the company’s business strategies across the value chain. Her team focuses primarily on agricultural development, water stewardship, circular packaging, climate action, and responsible sourcing. Barcenas also oversees the 100+ Accelerator, which identifies and supports startups with solutions to today’s most pressing sustainability challenges.
Additionally, she works closely with the Marketing teams on brand purpose, and with the Investor Relations team on ESG reporting and engagement. Barcenas has been with AB InBev since 2013. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, a Master’s degree in Environmental Health from Harvard University School of Public Health and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Catalina Garcia
Global Director of Corporate Affairs, AB InBev
Catalina is Global Director of Corporate Affairs at Anheuser-Busch InBev. She is a Colombian citizen and received a degree in Industrial Engineering from Javeriana University in Bogota. She has a track record of achievements in several multinational companies in the consumer goods, mining, technology and communications sectors (AB InBev, SABMiller, BHP Billiton, IBM and LLYC) in country, region, and global roles.
Catalina leads the Global Corporate Affairs area with special focus in social impact, community affairs, social norms marketing and partnerships for five regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America), as part of AB InBev’s reputation and sustainable development strategy. She leads the partnership of AB InBev with the United Nations UNITAR for the improvement of road safety around the world and directs the global responsible drinking strategy.
Catalina was selected as member of “Stars” in 2015, an exclusive circle of 100 international “Leaders of the Next Generation” from business, but also from science, politics, culture, NGOs and media. She is co-author of “How business can drive inclusive growth and development” report, published by Harvard Kennedy School. Winner of Top Women in PR Awards 2017 that spotlight on women that are best in class in PR and brand communications, and leaders who inspire the next generations of women.
She has served as a member of several global boards such as: IBM Women´s Diversity Network Group, Women’s for Colombia Foundation, Inversor Impact Investing Fund, CCRE (Colombian Center for Social Responsibility) and United Way Colombia and currently serves as board member of the Social Marketing Association of North America (SMANA).
Instagram and Twitter: @catalinitaga
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/catalina-garcia-cata
Letícia Rudge Barbosa Kina
Legal Vice President Officer, Ambev
Ms. Kina is Ambev’s Legal Vice President Officer. She joined the Company in 2002, and has held several positions including Legal Manager and Tax, Corporate, and Litigation Director. Ms. Kina holds a law degree from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas and a degree in economics from Universidade Estadual de Campinas, in addition to a Corporate MBA from Ambev, specialization in tax law from Universidade de São Paulo and a corporate reputation course from Stanford. Board member of WILL – Women in Leadership in Latin America.
Cybelle Buyck
Vice President of Legal & Corporate Affairs for Europe, AB InBev
Cybelle Buyck is Vice President of Legal & Corporate Affairs for the European operations of Anheuser- Busch InBev (AB InBev), one of the world’s leading consumer goods companies and brewer of global beer brands Stella Artois, Corona and Budweiser, and local jewels Jupiler, Hoegaarden and Beck’s.
Her team of over 100 people, spanning Western and Eastern Europe, is responsible for corporate responsibility, regulatory and public affairs, community outreach, external communication, ethics and compliance, and legal services.
She joined the company in 2014 and has held a number of positions in the Benelux and European Corporate Affairs teams, driving AB InBev’s Public Affairs, External Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility agendas across the region.
Prior to this, Buyck served as Head of Communication & Spokesperson at the Cabinet of the Flemish Minister for Mobility and Public Works, Hilde Crevits from 2007 to 2014.
Before joining the political cabinet, Buyck was a spokesperson and scientific advisor on economy, labor market, and trade for a political party in the Flemish parliament for 5 years. Buyck equally has 2 years of experience in the public administration, working on City Marketing & market research in India for the Belgian Foreign Trade Office.
Cybelle Buyck holds an MA in Sciences in applied economics at the KU Leuven in Belgium.
Zoleka Lisa
Vice President Corporate Affairs for South Africa, SAB
Zoleka Lisa is the Vice President of Corporate Affairs for South Africa. In this role, Lisa leads public policy, transformation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability strategy. She will also represent the company on the following boards: SAB Foundation, AWARE.org, and Beer Association for SA.
Her aspiration is to drive collaborations that will to continue to elevate the SAB Corporate Affairs agenda, ensuring the company’s initiatives are always impactful and relevant to the communities in which it operates. She leads a team of passionate change agents that are stepping up the organization’s corporate reputation and ultimately, contributing to the African growth ambitions.
She first joined SAB in 2014, where she was appointed as Regional Strategic Programmes Manager for Africa and has worked across the business over the past five years.
Prior to joining SAB, Lisa spent nine years as a Senior Manager at Accenture, a global professional services company that provides services in strategy, consulting, digital and technology.
She holds a BSc. in Environmental Science and Economics from the University of Cape Town and an Honours degree from the University of the Witwatersrand. She has attended a range of Executive Development courses from Wits Business School and the London School of Economics.
When she’s not at work, Lisa enjoys spending time with her family, travelling, and immersing herself in a good read.
ANDRÉS PEÑATE
Global Vice President of Regulatory and Public Affairs, AB InBev
Peñate is the Global Vice President of Regulatory and Public Affairs at AB InBev Global. He previously worked for the Bavaria Brewery as well as served as Corporate Affairs Vice President and Director of Sustainable Development for SABMiller Latin America. Peñate has also held various positions in the Colombian Government, including Director of DAS, the civilian intelligence agency of the country, and Vice-Minister of Defense. He also worked for BP as Director of International Affairs in Washington, D.C.
Peñate holds a bachelor’s degree from Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota and a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Oxford University.
Angela Sanchez
Global Vice President, Marketing FinanceAB InBev
Angela Sanchez is Global Vice President of Marketing Finance for Anheuser-Busch InBev. In her role, Angela is responsible of defining ABI’s Resource Allocation Strategy for marketing investments and lead operational excellence across geographies. Angela began her career in Finance over 20 years ago, starting as a Financial advisor to the Minister of Colombia then transitioning in 2005 as Controller and thenFinance Director of DHL Express Colombia and DHL Express Mexico. She joined AB InBev in 2010 in Shanghai, China where she lead the Treasury function for Asia Pacific Region until 2015. Then she was promoted as Global Director responsible for Cash Management, Pension Funds and Insurance in New York. In 2016, she had the opportunity of leading the Bavaria’s Foundation in Colombia where she drove a complete overhaul of the Foundation strategy and governance and lead the implementation of some key social projects like the Women Retailer Programs and Siembra Cebada (Smart agriculture). In 2019, before moving back to New York, shewas the Finance Head of BU Colombia (Bavaria – ABInbev). Angela has a master’s degree in Capital Markets and a bachelor’s degree in Financeand Government Affairs from Universidad Externado de Colombia. She resides in Manhattan with her husband and four-year old son.