Diageo has named former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis as chief executive, as the drinks company battles to rebuild investor confidence following a period of boardroom turmoil and weak performance that has sent its shares to a 10-year low.
The owner of Guinness and Johnnie Walker said on Monday that Lewis would take over on January 1. Diageo shares were up 7 per cent in morning trading in London.
The announcement ends Diageo’s search for a replacement after Debra Crew stepped down in July. Lewis ran Tesco between 2014 and 2020 and prior to that spent almost three decades at Unilever.
Diageo had come under fire from shareholders for its poor performance and its protracted search for a chief executive. A profit warning last week sent the FTSE 100 group’s shares down to 10-year lows.
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Sir John Manzoni, Diageo’s chair, said: “The board unanimously felt that Dave has both the extensive CEO experience, and the proven leadership skills in building and marketing world-leading brands that is right for Diageo at this time.”
Lewis earned the moniker “drastic Dave” during a 27-year career at Unilever, where he developed a reputation as a cost-cutter and turnaround specialist.
After a series of roles across the globe at the consumer goods group, he joined Tesco in 2014 with the UK supermarket chain in crisis.
Lewis successfully re-established Tesco as Britain’s dominant supermarket group. In his six-year tenure as chief executive, he oversaw widespread price cutting, slashed its workforce and sold off international businesses to refocus Tesco on its core UK operation.
At Diageo, Lewis will be embarking on a fresh turnaround, where he will be expected to revive sales growth at a time of moderating alcohol consumption around the world.
Bernstein analyst Trevor Stirling said in a note that Diageo had landed a “serious heavy hitter” in Lewis and that while “top-line turnarounds” take time to pull off, Lewis “has the right toolkit for Diageo”.
The drinks group is grappling with slowing demand in China and the US, where consumers are turning away from its premium tequila brands Don Julio and Casamigos. The group last week cut its forecast for sales and profit growth this year.
Sam Johar, chair of board advisory group Buchanan Harvey, said Lewis was an “excellent appointment”, adding that the former Tesco chief’s “strategic nous and operational experience is exactly what Diageo needs”. Lewis will be paid a salary of £1.5 million (€1.71 million).
Crew abruptly departed as Diageo chief in July after a troubled two-year tenure. The Financial Times previously reported that Crew stepped down after concluding she had lost the board’s support when it failed to quash speculation that her chief financial officer Nik Jhangiani was angling for her job.
Jhangiani, who has been acting as Diageo’s interim chief executive and was considered an early frontrunner for the top job, will return to his role as finance chief upon Lewis’s arrival, the company said on Monday.
Since leaving Tesco, Lewis had embarked on a portfolio career, but will now relinquish other roles. He will step down as chair at FTSE 100 consumer healthcare company Haleon, which is replacing him with its senior independent director Vindi Banga.
Private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice also confirmed that Lewis will relinquish his role as an operating partner, a position he has held since January 2024. CD&R has not completed a major deal in the consumer sector since Lewis’s arrival. - Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
