Diageo has appointed its Ireland MD, Barry O’Sullivan, to assume the same position for Great Britain, replacing Nuno Teles.
O’Sullivan (below), who assumed his current role four years ago, will make way for ex-Pernod Ricard executive Louise Ryan. Teles, meanwhile, will head across the Atlantic to take the lead at Diageo Mexico having spent the last three years at the helm of the GB unit.
Details of the pending movements of Diageo’s current Mexico MD, Leonardo Curado, who joined the group in January last year, were not immediately available.
The newly-announced Great Britain lead, whose move will come into effect at the start of July, joined Diageo Ireland in 2021 after having served as MD for Mars Petcare in Australia & New Zealand, with previous roles for the group in Mexico, the Middle East, Turkey and Africa.
Ryan (below) is set to leave Pernod Ricard after 13 years, the last two of which have been as MD of the collective Nordic markets. Six years at the group’s Irish Distillers division – during which she spent two years as the unit’s Ireland MD – were followed by just over five years (2018-2023) leading ‘The Gin Hub’, which sat within Chivas Brothers in London.
“I cannot wait to get started in Diageo’s home market of Great Britain … ,” said O’Sullivan. “After four wonderful years in Ireland, I look forward to bringing my experience to this new role and build on the incredible legacy that Nuno leaves behind.”
Teles “consistently grew the business despite challenging market conditions” in the GB market, according to a Diageo spokesperson, with a particular focus on growing the company’s tequila foothold there with the Casamigos and Don Julio brands.
Earlier this week, Diageo distanced itself from recent claims of having shared “written confirmation” of the rules to a popular drinking game involving its Guinness brand.
