Guinness owner Diageo appoints new CEO to revive growth

Diageo has named consumer products veteran Dave Lewis to be its next CEO as the Guinness and Johnnie Walker owner grapples with changing consumer alcohol preferences and considers selling off some of its brands, Food Dive reports.

Lewis will become Diageo CEO and executive director effective Jan. 1, 2026. Lewis joins after most recently serving as chair of Haleon, a pharmaceutical company founded in 2022. Prior to that, Lewis was the Group CEO for British supermarket chain Tesco.

Still, Lewis is no stranger to the CPG industry. He spent nearly three decades at Unilever, serving in marketing and business roles, including as president of the Americas and global president for personal care. He currently serves as non-executive board director of PepsiCo.

The appointment comes after a months-long search process following the departure of former CEO Debra Crew in July, who left as part of a mutual agreement with Diageo amid a slowdown in alcohol sales. CFO Nik Jhangiani, who has held the CEO role on an interim basis, will return to the chief financial officer position following Lewis’ appointment.

“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,” Diageo Chair John Manzoni said in the release.

Diageo, which also owns Captain Morgan, Baileys and Tequila Don Julio, reported $4.9 billion in net sales during its first quarter, a 2% year-over-year decrease. For its full fiscal year, it is now expecting a weaker U.S. consumer environment than it had previously planned for, according to the release.

In May, Diageo said it was considering “substantial changes” to its portfolio as it was prepping for $150 million in losses related to tariffs. These changes would be “beyond the usual smaller brand disposals” the company has done over the past three years, it previously said.

However, in its latest earnings call last week, the company didn’t provide an update on whether it was still considering sell-offs.

Lewis said that though the alcohol market is facing headwinds, he sees “significant opportunity.”

“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,” he said in a statement.