FTSE 100 drinks giant Diageo shares have rocketed after the appointment of a new chief executive officer, known for rescuing struggling businesses.
Shares rose 6.8 per cent in early morning trading to 1,845 pence, rebounding from their sharp drop last Thursday following the group’s latest trading update.
The Board has selected Sir Dave Lewis to take the role of chief executive and executive director as of 1 January 2026, crediting his “extensive marketing” experience to his appointment.
Lewis served as Group chief executive of Tesco in 2014 to 2020, before becoming the chair of global healthcare company Haleon in 2022 and non-executive board director of Pepsi Co.
He will step down from his role at Haleon on 31 December 2025.
Sir John Manzoni, Diageo’s chair, 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, that is right for Diageo at this time.
“We are confident Dave will work with the team to take Diageo into its next successful chapter in the evolving consumer environment.”
‘Drastic Dave’
Before his tenure at Tesco, Lewis spent nearly three decades at packaged goods company Unilever, primarily in executive committee roles.
Lewis was dubbed “Drastic Dave” during his time at Unilever, in a reflection of his management actions which included reducing the number of products the group produced from 1600 to 400 and cutting jobs.
These actions ultimately led to a 40 per cent reduction in group expenditure in 2007.
Lewis was also responsible for the turnaround of Tesco, after sales were damaged by the discovery that beefburgers on sale contained horse meat and customers were lured away by cheaper prices from competitors Aldi and Lidl.
Lewis repaired relations with suppliers and engaged with employers in his bid to repair the supermarket’s reputation.
Facing challenges
Interim chief executive Nik Jhangiani, who took up the role following the departure of Debra Crew in July after just two years in charge, will resume his position as chief financial officer in January.
Deirdre Mahlon, who returned to Diageo as interim chief financial officer, has confirmed she support the company through the transistion.
Lewis said: “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.”
Diageo, whose portfolio contains Guinness and Baileys, dropped its profit guidance in its latest trading update last Thursday, after weak demand in China and the US damaged sales expectations.
The group reported net sales of $4.9bn for the three months to the end of September, a fall of 2.2 per cent on last year.