Who is Newly Appointed CEO of Diageo Sir Dave Lewis?

Diageo has appointed former Group CEO of Tesco plc Sir Dave Lewis to the role of CEO and Executive Director, effective 1 January 2025. 

It comes after previous CEO Debra Crew left the role unexpectedly in July 2025 without a firm succession plan in place. 

Chief Financial Officer Nik Jhangiani has occupied the top spot as interim CEO since and will continue in the position to the end of the year.

Dave, who brings cross-industry experience and a track record of leading global consumer businesses, will be tasked with turning around recent performance at the global drinks giant. 

Diageo has faced declining sales in recent years. The company reported a drop in net sales in FY2024, including a sharp slump in Latin American and the Caribbean, and a soft start to FY2026 with net sales down about 2.2% over Q1. 

Diageo’s Chair, Sir John Manzoni, says: "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."

Bringing proven leadership to Diageo

Dave brings proven experience as a senior leader to Diageo, the world’s largest spirits maker that counts Guinness and Johnnie Walker whiskey among its stable of brands. 

In particular, he has extensive marketing and brand building experience and a track record for successfully steering world-class brands with operational and financial rigour. 

As CEO of Tesco plc from 2014 to 2020, he led a significant transformation at the business, cementing its position as the UK’s largest supermarket group and reinforcing its market leading status. 

Under his leadership Tesco closed 43 loss-making UK stores as part of its turnaround, refocused its portfolio to strengthen the balance sheet and improved profitability and efficiency – by FY2019/20, the company reported higher UK & ROI operating profitability, with margin up 59 bps year on year. 

Prior to Tesco, Dave spent three decades at Unilever, where his focus on cost cutting and targeted marketing earned him the nickname ‘Drastic Dave’. 

He has also been Chair of global consumer healthcare leader Haleon and served as the UK government’s supply chain adviser during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

He says of his appointment: “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."

Changing the guard at Diageo

By welcoming Dave, Diageo ends a months-long CEO search that began in the summer of 2025. 

Debra Crew, who joined the company in June 2023, stepped down in July 2025. In a statement, the company said her departure was decided by ‘mutual agreement’.

At the time, John said: “On behalf of Diageo and the board, I would like to thank Debra for her contributions to Diageo, including steering the company through the challenging aftermath of the global pandemic and the ensuing geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility. 

“On behalf of all Diageo colleagues, I wish her every success in the future. The Board’s focus is on securing the best candidate to lead Diageo and take the company forward. We strongly believe Diageo is well placed to deliver long-term, sustainable value creation.”

Interim CEO Nik will serve in the role until the end of the year before resuming his previous position at Chief Finance Officer.