A CEO's departure "with immediate effect" is always going to set tongues wagging. Throw in "by mutual agreement" and we're in full-on rumour-mill territory.Both phrases appeared in today's announcement from Diageo regarding its now-former lead, Debra Crew.One thing that was missing from the regulatory filing confirming Crew's departure after barely two years as group CEO was any kind of explicit explanation for the move. The closest we get to one is this, in the conclusion after chair John Manzoni's thanks to Crew for her "contributions" to the brand owner: "We strongly believe Diageo is we
Why didn’t Diageo CEO Debra Crew get the chance she deserved? – Comment
There’s no denying that Crew’s tenure at the helm was born in a storm.

Olly has been reporting on the beverage industry as a B2B journalist since 2003. He spent 18 years at Just Drinks, 16 of which as managing editor. Since joining Global Drinks Intel in 2022, he's interviewed the CEOs for brand owners including AB InBev, Campari Group, Carlsberg, Heineken and Suntory Global Spirits and has a bulging contacts book from across beverage alcohol worldwide.



