Diageo is facing significant challenges.
The drinks giant has issued a profit warning, reduced its long-term sales targets, and seen its share price fall to a ten-year low. Operating profits are down 28 percent. Net sales have flattened. Market confidence has been dented.
The causes are varied. A misjudgement of demand in Latin America led to overstocking. In the UK, pubs had to ration Guinness during the key Christmas trading period. Tariff headwinds, weaker consumer demand in the US and China, and changing drinking habits among younger consumers have compounded the problem.
Following the departure of CEO Debra Crew after only two years in post, and a brief interim period under CFO Nik Jhangiani, Diageo’s board has turned to Dave Lewis to lead its next chapter.
Lewis is best known for his tenure at Tesco, where he addressed a serious accounting scandal, halved the company’s £22 billion debt burden, and refocused the business on its core grocery offering. Prior to that, he spent nearly three decades at Unilever, building global consumer brands and earning a reputation for operational clarity and commercial discipline.
He will take up the post on 1 January.
While Lewis has no direct experience in the spirits industry, his background in consumer goods and brand management is likely to be highly relevant. Diageo does not currently require category expertise as much as it needs leadership, commercial rigour, and renewed strategic focus.
His appointment has already received a positive response from investors, with the share price rising seven percent following the announcement.
The task ahead will not be straightforward. Diageo’s recent performance has highlighted deeper issues around forecasting, channel strategy, and consumer relevance. It remains to be seen how Lewis will approach these, but his track record suggests a pragmatic, customer-led approach rather than sweeping structural change.
In uncertain markets, disciplined execution and clear leadership often matter more than bold reinvention. Lewis brings both. I’ll be watching this one with great interest.
This image was originally posted to Wikipedia by N Chadwick at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diageo,_Park_Royal-geograph-6558248-by-N-Chadwick.jpg, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0.