Atsushi Katsuki

Atsushi Katsuki serves as CEO of Asahi Group Holdings, Japan's largest beer company and one of the world's leading premium beer producers. Asahi's flagship Asahi Super Dry is Japan's best-selling beer, and the company dramatically expanded its global footprint through a series of bold European acquisitions: Peroni and Grolsch from SABMiller (2016), Pilsner Urquell and other Central European brands (2017), and Fuller's (2019). These acquisitions transformed Asahi from a primarily Japanese brewer into a global premium beer company. The European premium beer portfolio has proven strategically valuable, providing Asahi with established brands that command price premiums and are less exposed to the volume declines affecting mainstream beer in mature markets. Asahi Super Dry's international expansion, particularly in Asia and Western markets, complements the European portfolio. The company also operates significant soft drink, food, and health-focused beverage businesses in Japan. Katsuki's key decisions involve managing the European beer portfolio for margin expansion, Asahi Super Dry international growth, the Japanese domestic market (where the beer market is structurally declining due to demographics), and balancing debt reduction from the acquisition spree with continued investment.