SAB boss Richard Rivett-Carnac: ‘Our goal is to really propel this country forward’

Corporate trappings marked by a string of strategic meetings and endless travel while managing a growing multibillion-rand SA Breweries (SAB) empire, with tentacles stretching from South Africa, Namibia, eSwatini to Lesotho, have not stopped SAB boss Richard Rivett-Carnac from making time for family.

Known to friends and colleagues as “Boris” – Rivett-Carnac, who always displays a humble disposition at the SAB Bryanston headquarters and during visits to company operations with an ear for an opinion from a blue-collar worker or advice from an executive – is a true family man.

“When I am with my family, I ensure that I am fully present. Presence and love are my currency to my family,” says Rivett-Carnac.

He is also “very fortunate to be married to someone who is amazing and as intentional as I am, in being present and balancing both her career and family time. We are fortunate to have a very solid family support structure – very supportive grandparents who enable us to prioritise a healthy work-life balance”, adds Rivett-Carnac.

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A study undertaken by Oxford Economics on the role the beer industry plays in the local economy estimated that in 2019 beer supported a total contribution of R71 billion in terms of the gross value added to the gross domestic product.

Inclusion of women

Rivett-Carnac says: “Beer is natural, inclusive, local and has shown its ability to create economic opportunities for entrepreneurs and women to drive transformation.

“We continue to prioritise the inclusion of women in the various initiatives and schemes throughout the beer value chain.”

Despite the adverse impact of the global Covid pandemic on business growth, Rivett-Carnac is determined “to make this decade the best SAB decade by growing the beer industry responsibly”.

“We will do this by leading and growing the beer category, through investing behind and growing our core brands, fuelling the growth of our Beyond Beer portfolio, through innovation and meeting consumer needs.

“We will continue on our journey of digitising and monetising our ecosystem and optimising SAB to ensure we can continue investing in the business.

“With one in every 66 jobs in South Africa being supported by the beer industry, a growing and thriving SAB will drive growth and jobs in SA.”

Following SAB’s repositioning, to be measured against the successful implementation of the strategy in the years to come, Rivett-Carnac is bullish about the significance of the company’s rebranding architecture.

He says of the company’s new logo unveiled recently to the media – representing “a new purpose” that is aligned with SAB’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer: “It is about dreaming big to create a future with more cheers.

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“It’s allowing us to unpack the unique power to move the country forward through job creation, that will ignite the South African economy.

“The gold arc represents the passion we have for the beer, the red is the passion for the country and where the two meet is where passion meets purpose, with our purpose being to really propel this country forward.”

SAB: Redressing economic imbalances of apartheid

Among several of his achievements, Rivett-Carnac is proud to have played a role in redressing the economic imbalances of apartheid.

“I have been at the helm of driving transformation at SAB. In 2016, I was the manager of the SAB Thrive Fund, a supplier development private equity fund started by the company to drive the transformation of our suppliers.

“The successful close out one of the biggest [broad-based black economic empowerment] schemes in South Africa – SAB-Zenzele, was another proud moment for me.

“The scheme paid out R10 billion to beneficiaries – employees, retailers, and the SAB Foundation.

“To further drive our transformation agenda, we launched Zenzele Kabili in 2021, which included a grant of R1.5 billion of ABInBev shares to new and existing beneficiaries.

“In addition, with our black industrialist B-BBEE partners, I was fortunate to lead the acquisition of Nampak’s glass business – creating the first black-owned glass manufacturer in South Africa, Isanti Glass,” says Rivett-Carnac.

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“I am very fortunate to have maintained the same friends I went to school with and seeing them grow in their careers is a proud point for me. We still connect regularly at braais, over sport and major events in our lives – always with a beer,” he says.

– brians@citizen.co.za