The executive credited with getting TESCO through the worst financial crisis in its history has been given the top job in the fight against Guinness Morago.
Sir Dave Lewis will become chief executive of the FTSE 100 drinks company, which has seen its shares fall for a third year, on January 1.
Lewis Ran Tesco, Britain’s largest supermarket, from 2014 to 2020 and previously spent almost three decades as the owner of Marmite unwittingly. He revived Tesco after revealing an accounting scandal that threatened the future of the business.
Lewis’ appointment marks a significant coup for the conglomerate, which also owns the Johnnie Walker whiskey brand. He replaced Debra Crew, a former US military intelligence captain who stepped down as Diageo CEO in July, leaving investors unhappy about the company’s underperformance.
Nik Jhangiani, the former finance officer who was tapped as a frontrunner for the permanent job, will continue to lead the business for a year, and then return to his CFO role.
After a surprise profit warning in 2023, which comes on a post-pandemic rebound in alcohol consumption, Diageo is battling unfavorable global consumer trends, and abandoned a long-term sales target in February.
It has struggled with supply chain issues, errant shortages in Latin America and left it with government surpluses in the run-up to Christmas, just as the Festival of Demand increases.
The company has also been hit by Donald Trump’s trade war and last week issued a profit warning, saying it expects 2026 sales to be flat or down.
Lewis has led Haleon since GSK’s consumer health business launched in 2022, and said on Monday that he will step down from the role on 31 December.
When Lewis took the helm of Tesco, the supermarket giant was in crisis. It has a mountain of debt after many years of Empire building under leader Sir Terry Leay, and has discovered a gaping black hole in its accounts.
Within five years of his arrival, he returned to the basics, pointing out how TESCO’s prices compared to rivals Aldi and LiDL, which closed the costs of £ 22bn, closed costs that are not useful such as electricals.
Sir John Manzoni, Diageo’s chair, who led the succession process on behalf of the board, said: “Having conducted an extensive and thorough global search, the board unanimously felt that Dave has both the extensive CEO experience, and the proven leadership skills in building and marketing world-leading brands, which is right for Diageo at this time.”
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He said Lewis would lead Diageo into “the next successful chapter in the evolving consumer environment”.
Lewis said: “Diageo is a leading global business with a portfolio of strong brands, and I am delighted to be joining the team. The market is facing some head-on opportunities but there are also significant opportunities.”
In fact, Haleon said it has promoted Vindi Banga, Senior Independent Director on the board, to take over and succeed Lewis next year. Banga – who worked with Lewis at Unilever – also chairs the UK government limited and sits on the boards of GSK and Marks & Spencer.
He is a partner at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a private equity firm which Morrisons acquired in 2021 in a £7bn deal. He joined the company in 2010 after a 33-year career at Unilever.