Conclusion

If a business giant such as AB InBev may, at first sight, appear like a faceless corporate monolith, this book has sought to uncover the many personal and collective stories that together contributed to create the colossus it has become. The rise of Artois, Piedboeuf, and their successors from local players to world leadership is a complex and contrasted story, convoluting through time under changed shapes, names, and strategies, but whose contours are delineated by enduring traits. Oriented by influential shareholder families and steered with a strongly entrepreneurial compass, the companies did not follow a linear path, but rather followed the difficult meanders of longevity, learning from both failures and successes....