To the growing list of top executives leaving Anheuser-Busch in the wake of the takeover by InBev of Belgium, we add Francine Katz, Anheuser-Busch’s vice president of communications and consumer affairs. Lager Heads has learned Katz will leave Anheuser-Busch after 20 years, effective Dec. 31.

Katz has been on Anheuser-Busch’s top-level strategy committee since April 2002, when she assumed the leadership role for the company’s communications and consumer affairs departments. She has led the company’s alcohol awareness and environmental outreach initiatives.

In a note to employees, Dave Peacock, president of Anheuser-Busch, praised Katz’s “ability to quickly respond to confrontations and convey an empathetic message.” Katz, the company’s chief communications officer, has appeared on “60 Minutes,” “Dateline NBC,” “The Today Show,” “Geraldo,” and “Modern Marvels.” She has also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives on underage-drinking prevention.

In Lager Heads‘ experience, Katz was also a fiesty defender of Anheuser-Busch’s right to sell various drinks such as the fruit-flavored (and now defunct) Spykes, which ticked off critics who accused the company of attracting kids to alcoholic beverages.

Katz began her career with Anheuser-Busch in 1988 as an associate general counsel in the legal department.