The board of directors of Diageo has appointed Sir Dave Lewis to the role of chief executive officer and executive director, effective from 1 January 2026.
Lewis has extensive marketing and brand-building experience. He served as group CEO of Tesco from 2014 to 2020. Prior to this, he spent nearly three decades at Unilever, latterly in executive committee roles.
Additionally, Lewis has been the chair of Haleon, a global provider of consumer healthcare, since its creation in 2022 and is a non-executive board director of PepsiCo, Inc.
He will be stepping down from the Haleon role on 31 December 2025.
Lewis is also a trustee for the Royal Foundation and the chair of the World Wildlife Fund in the UK.
In recognition of his contribution to business and the food industry in the UK, he was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the 2021 New Year’s Honours List.
‘World-Leading Business’
“Diageo is a world-leading business with a portfolio of very strong brands, and I am delighted to be joining the team,” said Lewis.
“The market faces some headwinds, but there are also significant opportunities. I look forward to working with the team to face these challenges and realise some of the opportunities in a way which creates shareholder value.”
Nik Jhangiani will continue as interim CEO until the end of December 2025 and then resume his CFO role thereafter. Deirdre Mahlan, having returned to Diageo as interim CFO, will continue to support Diageo through the transition.
“We are delighted to welcome Dave as Diageo’s new CEO,” said Sir John Manzoni, Diageo’s chair.
“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 that is right for Diageo at this time.”
