Diageo has today (10 November) named former Tesco boss Dave Lewis as CEO and executive director, replacing interim CEO Nik Jhangiani. 

The appointment follows a long search for the company after Debra Crew’s abrupt resignation in July of this year, when she stepped down with immediate effect. 

Jhangiani will return to his role as COO at Diageo. Meanwhile, Lewis will resign from his current position as chairman of the consumer healthcare firm Haleon. 

Prior to his role at Haleon, Lewis served as group chief executive at Tesco until 2020. Before this, he spent nearly 30 years at Unilever. He is expected to begin at Diageo on 1 January, 2026. 

The news of Lewis’s appointment comes at a difficult time for Diageo. In its Q1 report last week, the company reported that net sales for the first quarter declined by 2.2%, while organic net sales were flat. 

John Manzoni, Diageo’s chair, who led the succession process, 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.” 

Lewis added: “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.”