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Diageo’s board is planning to replace chief executive Debra Crew in an effort to revive the embattled spirits group, after falling alcohol sales and waning investor confidence battered its share price.
The board of the company behind Johnnie Walker and Guinness is searching for a new chief executive to lead a turnaround, according to people familiar with the matter.
Chief financial officer Nik Jhangiani, who has quickly won over some major investors since joining Diageo last September, is a potential candidate to step in as interim chief executive, one of the people said.
Diageo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Crew has overseen a turbulent period since taking over in June 2023. Her tenure got off to a difficult start when, after five months, she was forced to issue a profit warning because Diageo had failed to foresee a slump in sales in Latin America.
The FTSE 100 drinks group struggled to return to growth as a pandemic-era boom in spirits sales ended and consumers reined in spending. Shares in Diageo have declined 43 per cent since Crew took over.
In February, Diageo appointed Sir John Manzoni, former permanent secretary for the UK’s cabinet office, as chair, just as the company scrapped its target for medium-term sales growth of between 5 and 7 per cent, blaming uncertainty over US tariffs and weak demand.
Crew failed to convince some investors that sluggish sales were merely the result of a cyclical downturn, rather than operational issues or a structural decline in alcohol consumption.
In May, Jhangiani announced plans to slash Diageo’s cost base by $500mn and disclosed to analysts and investors that the group was considering substantial asset disposals.
Crew’s elevation to the top job at Diageo was brought forward a month by the unexpected death of her long-serving predecessor, Sir Ivan Menezes. After a stint in the US military, Crew forged a career in the consumer goods industry, which included a stint as chief executive of tobacco giant Reynolds American.
