Anheuser-Busch’s security chief picked to lead Missouri’s Department of Public Safety
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has tapped John Britt, a veteran of the St. Louis branch of the Secret Service, to lead the state Department of Public Safety. Britt, of Chesterfield, spent 27 years in the Secret Service, helping coordinate the protection of the President, Vice President and Pope John Paul II when he visited the U.S. in 1999.
Lager Heads is writing about him because since 2002, he was the senior director for global security at Anheuser-Busch Cos. in St. Louis. That job gave him responsibility for the safety of “all corporate facilities, assets and 38,000 employees.” Britt personally directed and coordinated security for senior company executives and oversaw the security operations for national sales conventions and shareholders meetings. He retired from Anheuser-Busch in 2008.
The last time we saw Britt, it was at an Anheuser-Busch shareholders meeting in Orlando, spring of 2007. It was a question and answer period with shareholders. As we remember the exchange, it was pretty funny and confirmed our belief that Anheuser-Busch does not mess around.
Shareholder: Mr. Busch, what are you guys doing to secure these parks against terrorism threats and whatnot?
August Busch IV (into microphone): Well, I think I’ll have John Britt answer that. He’s former Secret Service and runs our security, and can fill you in. (Looking around) John? John, are you here?
John Britt (in dark suit and earpiece, stepping out from behind dark curtain at the back of the stage): I’m right here, Mr. Busch.
Crowd: Whoa!
Needless to say, Lager Heads was on very good behavior for the rest of the meeting. All the best to Mr. Britt.
(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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Jeremiah McWilliams is a native Virginian who came to the Post-Dispatch in early 2007 to cover beer and other consumer products. He previously covered manufacturing for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk, Va. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University. 
Congratulations to John Britt. My question is “how will this conflict with the company that he sat up to provide personal security for Dave Peacock?” Will he be able to do both jobs or will one job suffer, i.e. the securities of Missourians?
I don’t work in StL. I work in the warehouse. Funny how the StL people were told their jobs were ending. We were told they would let us know if we have a job on Jan 30. I guess they will come out call the ones losing their jobs into the meeting room and tell them & walk them out the door. ERP, don’t know? Severence, don’t know? You say you didn’t get much, well, we don’t know if we get anything! StL you are lucky, we just get denial from our management & rumors. How would you like that? In this day, people are losing their homes, but AB IV & his buddies got millions. Thanks. What is it said, we take pride in our employees, they are our family. Something like that.