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Diageo has today (10 November 2025) announced the appointment of Dave Lewis to the role of CEO and executive director, effective 1 January 2026.

Lewis steps into the role following the departure of former CEO Debra Crew, who stepped down in July. Nik Jhangiani, the company’s chief financial officer, has been serving as interim CEO since.

In a statement announcing his appointment, Diageo praised Lewis’ strong track record of leading global consumer businesses, building brands and providing ‘operational and financial rigour’.

His previous experience includes heading up UK retail giant Tesco as group CEO from 2014 to 2020. Prior to this, he spent nearly three decades at Unilever, latterly in executive committee roles, where he led on marketing and business performance.

Lewis has also been chair of consumer healthcare company Haleon since its inception in 2022, and is a non-executive board member of PepsiCo. He will step down from the Haleon role on 31 December 2025 ahead of taking on the Diageo position.

John Manzoni, Diageo’s chair, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dave as Diageo’s new CEO. 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.”

Manzoni thanked Jhangiani for his leadership as interim CEO, and expressed confidence in Lewis’ ability to “take Diageo into its next successful chapter in the evolving consumer environment”.

Commenting on his appointment, Lewis said: “Diageo is a world leading business with a portfolio of very strong brands, and I am delighted to be joining the team. 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.”

Jhangiani will continue as interim CEO until the end of December, then will resume his CFO role. Deirdre Mahlan, who previously held CFO and president of North America roles at Diageo, returned to the company as interim CFO. She will continue to support the business through the transition.