Diageo has appointed John Rishton to its board as a non-executive director, effective from the start of November.
Rishton (below) is currently the chair of both Informa and Serco Group, although he intends to step down at the latter at the end of this year. His executive career includes serving as CEO of Rolls-Royce (2011–2015) and Dutch multiple retail group Royal Ahold (2006–2011), as well as CFO of British Airways (2001–2005).
Earlier in his career he held finance roles at Ford in the UK, Spain and Portugal. He has also worked in non-executive positions at Unilever, Associated British Ports, Allied Domecq, Majid Al Futtaim and ICA Gruppen.
Diageo chair Sir John Manzoni said Rishton brings “extensive experience in a wide variety of industries” and “a track record of creating sustainable, long-term value for stakeholders”.
The addition comes at a pivotal time for the Johnnie Walker brand owner: two months ago, then-CEO Debra Crew parted ways with Diageo with Nik Jhangiani moving from CFO to interim CEO. Since then, the company has raised the target of its current cost-saving initiative by a further 25%, reaching US$625m.
This followed Diageo booking a 1.7% increase in 12-month sales to the end of June, reversing fiscal 2024’s top-line decline of 0.6%.
