Last updated: November 2, 2026
Brendan Whitworth is the new CEO of Equinox, the luxury gym company, which announced his appointment on Nov. 2, 2026. He spent the past five years as CEO of Anheuser-Busch, where he led America’s biggest brewer through the 2023 Bud Light boycott. Before beer, he was a Marine Corps officer, a CIA operations officer and a Frito-Lay sales executive. At Equinox he replaces Harvey Spevak, who has run the company since 1999 and becomes chairman. Whitworth takes over 118 clubs in 18 markets, a pipeline of about 50 more and more than $1 billion of new capital for growth, according to the company. He leaves Anheuser-Busch at the end of November.
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Quick facts
Name: Brendan Whitworth
New job: CEO and board director, Equinox (announced Nov. 2, 2026)
Previous job: CEO of Anheuser-Busch and president of AB InBev’s North America zone (July 2021 to November 2026)
Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics, Bucknell University; MBA, Harvard Business School (2008)
Military and government: First lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, then operations officer in the CIA’s counterterrorism center
Earlier career: PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay unit; joined Anheuser-Busch in 2013
Family background: His father is a doctor. His grandfather worked for the FBI and ran its training at Quantico.
Known for: Leading Anheuser-Busch through the Bud Light boycott
Who is Brendan Whitworth?
Whitworth started at Bucknell University in 1994 planning to become a doctor like his father. Midway through college he changed course and began looking into the Marines. “I felt fortunate to have been born in the United States,” he told Fox Business in 2022. “I felt like I needed to pay that back.” He went through Officer Candidates School before his senior year.
After graduating, he spent three years as a Marine officer, leading a platoon, and five years at the CIA as an operations officer in its counterterrorism center. While posted in Baghdad, he studied for the GMAT late at night. With few places to take it in the Middle East, he flew to Washington, sat for the exam and submitted his Harvard Business School application from his cousin’s house 29 minutes before the deadline. He applied only to Harvard, the school his older sister Kelty had attended, after she pushed him to put himself first.
He started at HBS in 2006. When he finished, he canceled a full week of banking and consulting interviews and took a job at PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay unit. He moved to Anheuser-Busch in 2013 and rose through its sales organization. He ran the Northeast region, then trade marketing, then served about four years as U.S. chief sales officer. On July 1, 2021, he succeeded Michel Doukeris as CEO when Doukeris became CEO of parent company AB InBev.
Less than two years later, Bud Light became the center of a national culture-war fight. Whitworth stayed through the fallout and ran the company for another three and a half years. On Nov. 2, 2026, Equinox named him CEO. AB InBev said Doukeris will run North America in the interim.
Career timeline
1994: Enters Bucknell University.
Late 1990s–early 2000s: Attends Marine Officer Candidates School, graduates from Bucknell and serves three years as a Marine officer.
Early–mid 2000s: Spends five years as an operations officer in the CIA’s counterterrorism center, including time in Baghdad.
2006–2008: Earns his MBA at Harvard Business School.
2008: Joins PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay unit.
2013: Joins Anheuser-Busch.
2014: Becomes vice president of sales for the Northeast region.
Later 2010s: Serves as vice president of U.S. trade marketing, then U.S. chief sales officer for about four years.
July 1, 2021: Becomes CEO of Anheuser-Busch and president of AB InBev’s North America zone.
April 2023: Bud Light’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney sets off a boycott.
June 2023: Modelo Especial passes Bud Light as America’s top-selling beer.
Nov. 2, 2026: Named CEO of Equinox. He leaves Anheuser-Busch at the end of November.
Notable deals & projects
Growing beyond beer: When AB InBev promoted him in 2021, it credited him with helping improve the U.S. business’s top-line trend by 2.8 points from 2017 to 2020, building more than $1 billion in “Beyond Beer” revenue and making Michelob Ultra the industry’s top share gainer.
Retail and e-commerce: The company also cited his work on e-commerce platforms and said Anheuser-Busch ranked as the No. 1 supplier in the industry’s Advantage Survey of retailers.
Leading a big workforce: AB InBev said the North America business had more than 22,000 employees in 2021. In 2023, Whitworth said the company had 65,000 employees, a figure that likely includes its wholesale partners.
The comeback brands: AB InBev said in its third-quarter 2026 results that it had been the top share gainer in U.S. alcohol for 10 straight quarters, led by Michelob Ultra and Busch Light.
Equinox’s growth plan: He takes over as Equinox finishes a refinancing that it says gives it more than $1 billion to invest in new clubs, existing locations and growth projects. Silver Lake, principals of Related Companies and Ares put in more equity, and lenders Ares and Sixth Street joined the debt deal.
Want the full story? Read The Profile’s look at another beer CEO, The Profile Dossier: Jim Koch, the Self-Made Beer Billionaire — then subscribe free.
What he’s known for
The Bud Light boycott: He was CEO when the brand lost its spot as America’s best-selling beer.
An unusual résumé: Few consumer CEOs have been Marine officers and CIA operations officers.
Sales roots: He came up through sales and trade marketing, not finance or brand management. He says his time in the Marines taught him how to connect with people from very different backgrounds.
Fitness: Equinox calls him “a long-time fitness enthusiast.”
In the news
Nov. 2, 2026: Equinox named Whitworth CEO and a board director. Spevak, who has led the company since 1999, becomes chairman. Equinox said it has double-digit revenue growth and record membership, activity and check-ins.
Nov. 2, 2026: Yahoo Finance reported that Whitworth will leave Anheuser-Busch at the end of November and that AB InBev CEO Michel Doukeris will lead North America in the meantime. Doukeris ran the North America business from 2018 to 2021.
Nov. 2, 2026: Yahoo Finance noted that Bud Light sales are still under pressure more than three years after the boycott.
Quotes
“Equinox is an extraordinary brand and business that has truly defined high-performance living for more than three decades, and I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the company into its next chapter of growth.” — Equinox announcement, Nov. 2, 2026
“Having known Brendan for several years, I was personally involved in bringing him to Equinox, and I’m thrilled to welcome him as our CEO.” — Harvey Spevak, Nov. 2, 2026
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.” — statement, April 14, 2023
“One thing I’d love to make extremely clear is, that impact is my responsibility, and as the CEO, everything we do here, I’m accountable for.” — CBS Mornings, June 28, 2023
“That early experience gave me an appreciation that I’ve continued to build upon — what it means to connect with, sell to, market to someone from Philadelphia or somebody from San Antonio.” — on the Marines, Fox Business, October 2022
Controversies / criticism
Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney: On April 1, 2023, transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted an Instagram video promoting Bud Light, including a can with her face on it. Conservatives, including Kid Rock, called for a boycott. Bud Light was America’s top-selling beer until early June 2023, when Modelo Especial passed it. AB InBev’s stock fell about 20% after the boycott began, wiping out an estimated $27 billion in value, according to Dow Jones Market Data Group, as cited by Military.com.
Criticism from both sides: His April 14 statement did not mention Mulvaney, and LGBTQ advocates criticized the company for not standing by her. Conservatives kept up the boycott anyway. On CBS Mornings he would not say whether he would work with Mulvaney again, saying instead that “Bud Light has supported LGBTQ since 1998.” He also said employees had faced threats.
Equinox’s own politics fight: Equinox faced its own boycott in 2019, after Related Companies founder Stephen Ross, whose firm controls the company, hosted a fundraiser for Donald Trump. Equinox also agreed in 2025 to pay $600,000 to settle a New York investigation into its cancellation practices.
Net worth & money
There is no public estimate of Whitworth’s net worth. Equinox is privately held and has not disclosed his pay. The bigger number is what he gets to spend: more than $1 billion of capital that Equinox says is set aside for new clubs, upgrades to existing ones and other growth projects.
FAQ
Who is Brendan Whitworth?
He is the new CEO of Equinox and the former CEO of Anheuser-Busch, where he led the company through the 2023 Bud Light boycott.
When does Brendan Whitworth start at Equinox?
Equinox announced his appointment on Nov. 2, 2026. He leaves Anheuser-Busch at the end of November 2026. Equinox has not given a public start date.
Who replaced Brendan Whitworth at Anheuser-Busch?
AB InBev CEO Michel Doukeris will lead the North America business in the interim.
Was Brendan Whitworth in the CIA?
Yes. After three years as a Marine officer, he spent five years as an operations officer in the CIA’s counterterrorism center.
How old is Brendan Whitworth?
His age has not been made public. He started college at Bucknell in 1994.
Who owns Equinox?
Related Companies has controlled Equinox since 2006. Silver Lake, principals of Related and Ares are existing investors that added equity in the latest deal.
Further reading
Equinox Appoints Brendan Whitworth as CEO — PR Newswire
From CIA to beer: Brendan Whitworth’s path to CEO of Anheuser-Busch — Fox Business
Anheuser-Busch CEO and Marine Vet Answers Hard Questions About Bud Light Marketing — Military.com
The Profile Dossier: Jim Koch, the Self-Made Beer Billionaire — The Profile
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