Ivan Menezes has confirmed his intention to step down as head of Diageo later this year, with COO Debra Crew lined up to replace him.
The switch, scheduled for the end of the group’s current fiscal year on 30 June, will bring the curtain down on Menezes’ tenure exactly ten years after he replaced Paul Walsh as CEO. In that time, he weathered two consecutive years of stagnant sales, as well as the Covid pandemic, and will leave Diageo as “the number one company by net sales value in Scotch whisky, vodka, gin, rum, Canadian whisky, liqueurs, and also Tequila”.
Menezes was awarded a knighthood “for services to business and to equality” in January.
“It has been an enormous honour leading Diageo over the past decade," Menezes said today. "I am extremely proud of what we have achieved during that time, and I would like to thank my 28,000 ... colleagues around the world for all of their hard work, creativity and passion."
Crew's time with the group started in mid-2020 when she was appointed regional president for North America - a role held previously by Menezes - & head of global supply. She moved up to become COO - which also appears on Menezes' resumé - when Diageo reopened the position last year.
Prior to joining the company, Crew spent four years with PepsiCo [2010-2014], which included two years as president of the Americas beverages operations, and just over three years [2017-2017] at tobacco giant Reynolds American, where she was CEO for 12 months.
In Diageo's latest set of results, for the six months to the end of December, year-on-year sales climbed 9.4%, with Menezes citing "winning quality market share" as the company's priority moving forward.
