Belgium: InBev appoints WE Deepak Malhotra to head the legal team

Brewing giant InBev has appointed Western Europe general counsel Deepak Malhotra to head its corporate legal team as part of an extended role, The Lawyer announced February 14.

Malhotra's appointment is the result of a decision by management to incorporate the Western European and corporate teams under the leadership of one person.

Malhotra said: “I want to retain the differences between the departments but the leadership of the group will be under one person. There will be some emphasis on sharing communication and best practice.”

Malhotra has replaced Miren Aguirre, who has left the company. In his new role, Malhotra has taken on the global intellectual property, competition and M&A legal functions. He will divide his time between London and Belgium, where the corporate team is based.

Although the two departments will remain separate, he plans to add the lawyers from the corporate team to InBev’s "talent pool", which is a three-year scheme that aims to develop the skills of its most ambitious lawyers. The scheme already has 11 lawyers,

InBev’s Western European zone covers six countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, France, the UK, Germany and Italy.

InBev resulted from the merger of Interbrew and Companhia de Bebidas das Américas (AmBev) in 2004. Its brand portfolio includes international names such as Bass, Becks, Stella Artois and Brahma, a Brazilian brand that is the world's eighth best-selling beer.