YanJun Cheng
Executive Director, Co-Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Budweiser APAC
Mr. Yanjun Cheng was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer, Co-Chair and Executive Director of the group on 1 April 2025.
Mr. Cheng has over 40 years of experience in the beer and beverage industry, including 29 years as a brewmaster in the AB InBev Group. A Chinese national, Mr. Cheng has demonstrated a passion for beer throughout his career. In 1996, he held the position of Chief Brewmaster, Production and Management at Anheuser Busch. Mr. Cheng’s long and distinguished career in China also included having served previously as the CEO of Harbin Group in 2005. From 2009 to 2024, he served as the Vice President Supply and Logistics for the APAC region, covering China, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia, and most recently served as AB InBev’s Global Supply Operations Chief.
Mr. Cheng holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fermentation from Qilu University of Technology, a Brewing Diploma from Doemens Technikum in Munich, Germany, a EMBA Degree from the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, China, and qualified as a senior engineer in June 1994.
Ignacio Lares
Chief Financial Officer
Budweiser APAC
Mr. Ignacio Lares was appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of the group on 1 March 2021.
He joined Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (“AB InBev”) in 2007 as a global management trainee and was subsequently appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of Labatt Breweries of Canada from 2016 to 2018 and the Chief Financial Officer of the Middle Americas Zone at AB InBev from 2018 to 2019. Prior to his appointment as the Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Lares was appointed as the Vice President, Technology and Analytics of the Middle Americas Zone at AB InBev since 2020. Mr. Lares graduated from Queen’s University in Toronto with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering and holds a Master of Engineering, Mechanical and Industrial, from the University of Toronto.