Alex Behring

Alex Behring (born 1967) is a Brazilian billionaire businessman. He is a co-founder and managing partner of 3G Capital, a global investment firm known for its investments in Anheuser-Busch InBev, Restaurant Brands International (Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and Firehouse Subs), Kraft Heinz, and Hunter Douglas N.V. As of March 2024, ''Forbes'' estimated his net worth at US$6.2 billion.

Early life

Behring earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC/RJ), and later attended Harvard Business School, where he earned an MBA in 1995. During his time at Harvard, Behring was a Baker Scholar and Loeb Scholar.

Career

In 1989, Behring co-founded Modus OSI Technologies, a technology company. He remained a partner in the company until 1993, contributing to its operations in both Florida, United States, and São Paulo, Brazil.

From 1994 to 2004, Behring was a partner and board member at GP Investments, the largest private-equity firm in Latin America. During this period, under the mentorship of billionaire Brazilian financier Jorge Paulo Lemann, Behring gained experience in investing, mergers, and acquisitions.

In 1998, Behring co-founded América Latina Logística (ALL), a private sector railroad company. He was the CEO, overseeing the company's operations in Argentina and Brazil. Under Behring's leadership, ALL experienced significant growth, with its public market capitalization increasing fortyfold compared to its acquisition price by GP Investments a decade earlier.

In 2004, Behring co-founded 3G Capital, a global investment firm and private partnership. The firm originated from the Brazilian investment office of Jorge Paulo Lemann, Carlos Alberto Sicupira, and Marcel Herrmann Telles. Behring is the co-managing partner alongside Daniel Schwartz.

Since 2010, Behring has been a member of the board of directors at Restaurant Brands International, leading its acquisition by 3G Capital in the same year. Behring was chairman of Restaurant Brands International from 2010 to 2019 and co-chairman from 2019 to 2022 and remains a director.

In 2014, Behring played a pivotal role in the merger of Burger King and Tim Hortons, which formed Restaurant Brands International. Warren Buffett, through Berkshire Hathaway, was a key financier in the transaction. Reflecting on this collaboration, Behring noted, “When I called about merging Burger King with Tim Hortons, he jumped in with sharp insights from decades of prior study of the business. That taught me the power of compounding knowledge.”

He was chairman of Kraft Heinz from 2015 to 2022, having previously been chairman at the H.J. Heinz Company since 2013 for which he led 3G's 2013 acquisition of Heinz alongside Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Behring was on the boards of Anheuser-Busch InBev, CSX Corporation, and Hunter Douglas, joining the latter in 2022.

The magazine '' Latin Trade'' calls Behring, "one of the most prominent representatives of a new generation of aggressive financial investors and managers of consumer-oriented services".

Personal life

Behring lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is married to Danielle Behring of Curitiba, Brazil. He is a co-founder of The Behring Foundation, a nonprofit family foundation headquartered in Brazil, with a stated focus on empowering talented youth and driving social development through various initiatives. Behring has been included among "The 20 Most Notable Harvard Alumni in the Business World" in recognition of his accomplishments and is a member of the board of dean's advisors at Harvard Business School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Behring, Alex
1967 births
Living people
Brazilian businesspeople
Place of birth missing (living people)
Harvard Business School alumni
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro alumni
Brazilian emigrants to the United States
AB InBev people
Kraft Heinz people
Restaurant Brands International
Brazilian billionaires