Diageo has confirmed a change of financial lead, with Nik Jhangiani set to depart the brand owner, two years after becoming its CFO.
The group, which is in the process of right-sizing its employee headcount globally under CEO Dave Lewis, said earlier today (23 September) that Lewis and Jhangiani “have agreed that … this is the right time for this change”. The CFO, who held the CEO reins temporarily when Debra Crew vacated the position in July last year, will be replaced by Joanne Wilson (below), the current CFO at London-based communications & PR group WPP.
The changeover at the Johnnie Walker brand owner will take effect from an unspecified point next year.
Wilson’s beverage background consists of three-and-a-half years – from mid 2019 to early 2023 – at Britvic as CFO. The executive, who left the now-Carlsberg-owned soft drinks business to join WPP, crossed paths with Lewis at Tesco, where she worked for almost ten years (2006-2016), the last two of which as its head of M&A.
Lewis was the retail giant’s CEO from September 2014 to September 2020.
“It is a real pleasure working with Nik and I would like to thank him for his support to me and his significant contribution to Diageo,” said Lewis. “Nik and I have agreed that, now we have shared our new strategy, this is the right time for this change. Nik will remain in role to ensure a smooth handover to Joanne.
“Joanne is a very experienced CFO and commercial leader who will ensure we accelerate the turnaround of Diageo, having already delivered extensive transformations in her previous companies. I am looking forward to welcoming her to Diageo and the executive team.”
In results from the 12 months to the end of June, Diageo booked a 2% decline in year-on-year sales. On the same day as announcing the figures, the group outlined its revised strategy that included a “significant” restructuring initiative as part of a US$1bn savings target over the coming three years.
