cover of episode Ep 109: Anson Frericks on the Rise & Fall of Budweiser; Milton Friedman vs Klaus Schwab; and How to Save Corporate America

Ep 109: Anson Frericks on the Rise & Fall of Budweiser; Milton Friedman vs Klaus Schwab; and How to Save Corporate America

2025/2/21
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Anson Frericks: 我认为百威淡啤的衰落以及许多其他公司面临的困境，都源于公司目标的错位。长期以来，美国公司秉持着Milton Friedman的股东优先理论，专注于创造卓越的产品和服务以提升股东价值。然而，欧洲，特别是世界经济论坛（Klaus Schwab）所倡导的利益相关者资本主义，则主张公司应平等地服务所有利益相关者。这种模式的挑战在于，它难以在多个目标之间取得平衡，最终可能导致公司目标不明确，甚至虚假。 百威英博公司（AB InBev）的案例尤其具有代表性。公司将总部从圣路易斯迁至纽约，这一举动导致公司文化发生转变，并逐渐偏离了其核心客户群体——中西部地区的美国民众。这种转变也与公司对ESG和DEI议程的过度投入有关。我个人认为，公司对ESG和DEI的过度关注，不仅没有带来预期的品牌增长，反而导致了消费者流失和股东价值的巨额损失。 此外，大型资产管理公司如BlackRock、State Street和Vanguard，利用其在市场上的巨大影响力，迫使公司采纳ESG和DEI政策，这进一步加剧了问题。这些公司通过制定ESG指数、对公司进行评分等方式，创造了新的盈利模式，但同时也带来了不良的激励机制。 我认为，公司应该回归商业本质，专注于为客户创造价值，而不是被外部激进主义者的议程所左右。 Joe Lonsdale: 我与Anson Frericks的对话让我对美国公司当前面临的挑战有了更深入的了解。他离开百威英博公司，创立Strive Asset Management和Athletic Capital，正是因为他看到了公司在ESG和DEI议程上的问题，以及由此带来的潜在风险。 Anson的经历以及他所撰写的《百威淡啤的最后通牒》一书，为我们提供了一个重要的案例研究，揭示了华尔街和美国企业界所面临的问题。他深入分析了大型资产管理公司如何利用其影响力，迫使公司采纳ESG和DEI政策，以及这些政策如何损害公司利益和社会价值。 Anson的观点也让我对美国公司未来的发展方向有了新的思考。他认为，公司应该回归商业本质，专注于为客户创造价值，而不是被外部激进主义者的议程所左右。他还呼吁企业界和投资者应该更加关注股东价值，并抵制那些损害公司利益和社会价值的政策。

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Anson Frericks, former president at Anheuser-Busch, discusses the factors that contributed to Bud Light's dramatic decline, including the company's move from St. Louis to New York City and its adoption of ESG and DEI initiatives. He highlights the disconnect between the company's new direction and its core customer base, leading to significant financial losses and job cuts.
  • Bud Light's market share plummeted after a controversial ad campaign.
  • The company's move from St. Louis to New York City alienated its customer base.
  • The adoption of ESG and DEI initiatives further contributed to the brand's decline.

Shownotes Transcript

Budweiser was the undisputed king of American beers, until one controversial ad campaign erased $40 billion in market cap and thousands of jobs. How did this happen? Where did top-down frameworks like ESG and DEI originate? And how can we get corporate America back on mission?

This week we're joined by Anson Frericks, a former president at Anheuser-Busch and author of the new book: “Last Call for Bud Light): The Fall and Future of America’s Favorite Beer." He recently founded Athletic Capital and co-founded Strive Asset Management with Vivek Ramaswamy.

After graduating from Yale and Harvard Business School, Anson quickly ascended the ranks at AB InBev, which acquired Anheuser-Busch in 2008. But he began to notice the beer brand straying from its all-American roots. The culture shifted dramatically after InBev moved sales and marketing from St. Louis to New York City, and Budweiser became emblematic of a decades-long battle over the purpose of a corporation dating back to Milton Friedman's shareholder primacy theory versus the World Economic Forum's embrace of stakeholder theory. Anson explains how the latter captured boardrooms across Europe, spread to America, and led to the proliferation of ESG and DEI within our largest financial institutions.

He details how BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard wield their outsized influence to force stakeholder theory on corporate America, and explains why, shortly before Bud Light's historic collapse, he left to launch Strive Asset Management as an alternative asset manager focused solely on maximizing returns for shareholders. Anson provides an important case study in what went wrong on Wall Street and in boardrooms across the country, and more importantly, how we can get back on track.

00:00 Episode Intro

1:57 The rise & fall of Bud Light

08:50 What is the purpose of a corporation?

10:48 Milton Friedman vs Klaus Schwab

13:50 How BlackRock manipulates investors & companies

16:15 What went wrong at Bud Light

19:00 Costco doubling down on DEI

23:35 How to fight back

28:10 Why Anson left to start Strive

35:38 How to save corporate America This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com)