Diageo CEO departs ahead of annual results
Diageo has parted ways with chief executive Debra Crew just three weeks ahead of its annual results. Chief financial officer Nik Jhangiani steps in as interim CEO amid mounting pressure to revive performance and cut debt.
Just three weeks before it reports annual results, Diageo has parted company with its chief executive, Debra Crew (pictured), by “mutual agreement”. The company’s chief financial officer Nik Jhangiani is taking over in the interim as the company strives to boost its performance and cut debt.
Her departure also comes just months after Sir John Manzoni took over as chairman of the board. He will now lead the hunt for Crew’s successor.
The company’s shares have halved in the past four years but put on an initial spurt when it confirmed the Financial Times report that Crew was going.
During her tenure, the company’s shares lost about 44% of their value as consumer spending worldwide suffered from inflation and the general economic malaise.
Outlook remains steady despite executive shake-up
Diageo said that its guidance on financial performance for the next year was unchanged.
Crew, a former US Army intelligence officer, had a difficult two years in the Diageo hot seat.
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She became chief operating officer after running the US operation and was anointed heir to succeed Sir Ivan Menezes on his planned retirement in summer 2023. His sudden death in June 2023, following a brief illness, meant that she was elevated two months early.
Historic all-female leadership team dissolved
At the time, she and Lavanya Chandrashekar, the then CFO, formed the only female top team among FTSE 100 companies.
Chandrashekar left Diageo last year, with many observers speculating that she had been blamed for the company’s need to issue its disastrous profits warning in November 2023 when sales in Latin America slumped, leaving the group with a large overstocking problem.
Turnaround plan in progress under new interim CEO
Diageo is in the middle of a turnaround drive and in May unveiled a plan to cut US$500 million in costs and make substantial asset sales by 2028. Many believe that Jhangiani, a former finance executive at Coca-Cola, was the driving force in instituting that programme.
Jhangiani tipped for permanent CEO role
“CFO and Interim CEO Nik Jhangiani has to be a candidate for the permanent role, but whoever gets it, we don’t think Diageo’s problems will be easily resolved,” RBC Capital Markets analyst James Edward Jones told Reuters.
Other market analysts also regard him as a leading candidate for the top job.
Jhangiani was among the most highly respected finance chiefs in the sector, who has been regarded as potential CEO material for a while, Jones said.
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