New Diageo CEO Dave Lewis to Tackle U.S. Spirits Slump, Increased Tequila Competition
Diageo recently named a new CEO — the replacement for Debra Crew, who stepped down in the summer by mutual agreement with the company’s board.
Dave Lewis will take on the role effective Jan. 1, 2026. He was hired for his extensive marketing and brand-building experience and a track record of leading global consumer businesses.
Lewis was selected by the board through a formal search process that considered both internal and external candidates.
"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 are right for Diageo at this time,” said chairperson John Manzoni.
More About Lewis
Lewis served as group CEO of Tesco from 2014 to 2020, where he helped transform the business. Before this, he spent nearly three decades at Unilever in executive committee roles, leading on both marketing and business performance.
Lewis has also chaired Haleon since its creation in 2022 — a role he will be departing.
Diageo's Performance and Strategy
In the interim, Manik Jhangiani has been leading the company. He will return to the role of CFO at the start of next year.
In the latest earnings call, Jhangian said the company was seeing softer performance in North America as U.S. spirits showed further declines, reflecting a weaker consumer than the company had expected.
The tequila category, specifically, showed weakness and increased promotional intensity due to consumers trading down. Increased competition in the space has also led to more frequent and deeper discounts.
As Lewis takes on the mantle, he will have to contend with the increased market volatility while helping progress Diageo's Accelerate program, which strives to get the company closer to the consumer and customer and drive a stronger in-market commercial focus.
As part of this, Diageo has been evaluating and building capabilities as it undergoes an extensive review of its operating model. So far, the company has" established and implemented a clearer framework for decision-making across the center, market and region, which will bring with it speed and agility," said Jhangian during the call.
"We're continuing to work on end-to-end process planning, including defining future processes and ultimate process owners to drive clear accountabilities across the business, as well as our global business operations team," he added.
