Peter Kraemer

Chief Supply Officer, Anheuser-Busch InBev
BSChE ’88

For outstanding leadership, career achievements, operational insight and preparedness in navigating the ever-changing worldwide landscape of the brewing industry

You could say that beer runs in Peter Kraemer’s veins. A fifth-generation brewmaster, he can trace the hops back to his great-great grandfather at Kobanya Brewery in Budapest, Hungary. Growing up in St. Louis, he heard stories of that lineage, which ultimately led him to his current position as chief supply officer at Anheuser-Busch InBev.

“My father studied brewing at the University of Munich,” Kraemer says. “His uncle was the brewmaster of the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis, back when they only had one brewery. After he graduated, that uncle offered him a position with the company.”

Kraemer and his siblings often went to the brewery with their father. “He would go in on the weekends to taste beer and to make sure things were running right,” Kraemer says. “So, I’ve been around breweries since I was a child.”

Though he had other options, Kraemer chose Purdue’s Davidson School of Chemical Engineering for its stellar reputation and the warmth he felt on an initial campus visit. “I just felt at home,” he says.

Shortly after he graduated, Kraemer worked two years of apprenticeships at renowned breweries in Germany. Kraemer learned the technology of brewing and unlocked the secrets of making excellent beer from his uncle, a brewmaster in Bitburg.

Back in the U.S., Kraemer has spent close to 30 years working through various leadership positions at Anheuser-Busch InBev, which made more than $43.6 billion in revenue in 2015. Now the worldwide “King of Beers,” the company also has held a 46.4 percent share of the U.S. beer market. Reporting directly to the CEO, Kraemer oversees 150 breweries, 25 verticalized operations, logistics and research, and development across four continents and 25 countries. He has approximately 110,000 employees in his group.

For all that responsibility, Kraemer believes it is still all about the beer. “We’re all over the world. You might have to deal with power companies not delivering power to the breweries. You might deal with labor problems. You deal with bad weather issues and things related to crops and farmers,” he says. “But at the end of the day, if you go up to the taste room and taste the beer and it’s good, you know you’ve done your job.”

The same problem-solving skills that got him through a rigorous chemical engineering program informs Kraemer’s decision-making and management style today. As a member of the school’s Industrial Advisory Council for nearly 20 years, and recently an invited “Old Master,” Kraemer maintains deep connections to campus. “It’s important to me that Purdue continues to provide the world with great engineers and other graduates,” he says. “My advice for students is to follow a passion. If you do something you enjoy, you’ll be good at it.”

Nothing difficult is easy.”

Brad Hagan

Career Highlights

2016-present Chief Supply Officer, Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B InBev), St. Louis
2008-2016 Vice President of Supply for North America, A-B InBev
2006-2008 Vice President of Operations, A-B InBev
2004-2006 Group Director of Brewing, A-B InBev
1996-2004 Senior Resident Brewmaster, A-B InBev
1994-1996 Senior Assistant Brewmaster, A-B InBev
1993-1999 Staff Brewmaster, A-B InBev
1992-1993 Assistant Brewmaster, A-B InBev
1990-1992 Staff Brewmaster, A-B InBev
1990 Group Manager, A-B InBev, Fort Collins, Colorado
1989-1990 Group Manager, A-B InBev, Tampa, Florida
1988 Brewer’s Apprentice, Warsteiner Brewery, Warstein, Germany
1988 Brewer’s Apprentice, Bitburger Brewery, Bitburg, Germany

Education

1988 BS Chemical Engineering, Purdue University
1992 MBA, St. Louis University