Diageo has announced that former chief executive Paul Walsh has been appointed as an additional director at United Spirits Limited.
Walsh's position is effective immediately, and he will be joined as a director by Vikram Singh Mehta, who has been appointed as an independent company director.
Mehta joins the United Spirits board with over 35 years of experience in Indian business, in particular within the oil industry. He currently serves on the boards of Colgate Palmolive India Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra and Vodafone India Limited, as well as Larsen & Toubro.
Diageo Plc, which is the world's largest spirits maker acquired a 25.02% stake in Vijay Mallya-led United Spirits Ltd (USL) on completion of a share purchase deal announced last year.
While Walsh is not set to officially retire from Diageo until June 2014 to ensure a smooth transition for new CEO Menezes, he will also continue to earn £80,000 a year to represent the Johnnie Walker producer in the wider Scotch whisky industry – a role that could last for up to five years.
