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- [Brad] It's lunch time and this
is Brad Anderson's Lunch Break.
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Here in Redmond, we're visited
by some of the smartest people on the planet.
Pretty much everyday.
Every chance I get, I meet up with them for lunch.
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This week I'm meeting up with a very popular
Jay Emery, the Senior Director of Global Enterprise
Architecture at Anheuser-Busch InBev.
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- So, Jay Anheuser-Busch-InBev, you guys are the result
of three different brewing companies merging.
You are now the biggest brewer in the world.
150,000 employees in 50 countries
and you gotta basically help set
the architecture for that whole organization.
- Exactly.
- Now, when people think of Anheuser-Busch,
they immediately think of the Midwest.
But, now you are based in the Bay Area, in Silicone Valley.
- So, we set up what we call the Beer Garage
and it's an innovation lab where some
of our innovation experts as well
as our Global Enterprise Architects are currently based.
- You guys have taken the pros and said,
'Hey, listen we want to participate in the talent pool,
so, we're gonna go to it and that's where we're going
to have our architecture team.
- Absolutely.
- So, this game is called, Brew or False.
- Okay.
- So, I'm going to read you some names
- Okay
- and you're going to tell me if it's an actual product
- Okay
- made by Anheuser-Busch InBev.
- Okay
- Bud Light Apple.
- Brew
- Michelob Pumpkin Spice Ale.
- Brew
- Michelob Ultra Fruit Lime Cactus
- False. I know we have cactus,
I didn't know if it was fruit cactus or anything.
(both laugh)
Got some homework to do.
- Bud Light Lime Watermelon Rita.
- Brew
- King Cobra Premium Malt Liquor.
- Brew
- Spice Banana Wheat
- It's brew.
- Gluten-free Cranberry Bread.
- False
- Thirsty Frog Red Ale.
- False
- Boa Constrictor IPA
- False
- That's false and you did dang good.
(Jay laughs)
- So, in this well-known, global brand of brewing,
how is IT fundamentally changing the business?
- It's a good question, I think if I look back
5, 10 years ago, IT was almost an order taker.
- Yeah, Yeah. Costly, right?
- Exactly, more on the menu, more on the menu.
I think within the last five or so years,
we've really got a seat at the table.
And, in my mind, we're actually at the head of the table
- Love it.
- Because no longer are we looking at more
at incremental upgrades or refreshes, but we're actually
talking more about business capabilities.
So, what technology or innovations are coming
that we can drive new business capabilities?
Right? Really create that kind
of competitive advantage for our business.
- Yeah, I love how you said
you talked about a seat at the table,
in fact, at the head of the table.
If someone is listening to this,
and they don't feel they have that seat at the table,
what advice would you give them?
How do they go grab it?
- No, that's a good question.
I, to me, it starts with a mind-set change, right?
Again, get out of the order-taker and more understand
what's the art of the possible, right?
And, then sit down with your business partners
and explain to them or walk them through
what are the new capabilities that are coming
from a technology perspective.
They may not know, and I think the business user is
really starting to get a kinda crash course
in technology with the advent of the Cloud,
with the advent of SASS-type solutions,
they're becoming more familiar with that on-demand
Cloud model and it's less scary to them.
- Okay
- So, they recognize that and then now
this is a good opportunity for you to approach them
and really drives them to changing some things.
- Is that what you did there at Anheuser?
You stepped, you grabbed the role and said,
"Listen, we're going to go and make some changes here."
- Yeah, one of the things we did.
We took a bit of a pivot and said,
"Let's not talk about technology,
let's talk about capabilities."
- Got it.
- Right. So, wouldn't it be great
'Mr. Salesperson' if we could do 'X'.
Don't come in and talk about technology
cause a lot of time that gets missed.
But, when you talk about the capabilities
and really connecting with their language.
- How you are going to enable them.
- Exactly, and that really helps you get that seat
at the table and then you can use that to innovate.
- So, when you work with your company's leadership
and you come up with these big visions and these big goals,
how much seniority do you need at ABI
in order to be able to ride one of the Clydesdales?
(both laugh)
- Are you looking for, you know,
do we need to fly you down to St. Louis?
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- [Brad] Next time on Brad Anderson's Lunch Break,
- We're really focused at least
in the Beer Garage at how do we leap frog?
Get rid of the incremental thought
cause everyone's doing incremental updates.
But, how do we jump from on-premise
data centers directly to Cloud?
- I gotta tell ya, I hear that you guys
got the best products on the planet,
but I can honestly say I've actually never tasted one.
(Brad laughs)
- We will find a way for you to do that, Brad, I tell ya.
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