Troubled drinks giant Diageo names former Tesco boss to lead turnaround push

Former Tesco boss Dave Lewis, who has been appointed as chief executive of Diageo. Picture: Joe Giddens

The executive credited with steering Tesco out of the worst financial crisis in its history has been handed the top job at the struggling Guinness maker Diageo.

On January 1, Dave Lewis will become chief executive of the drinks company, whose shares have fallen by a third this year. Lewis ran Tesco from 2014 to 2020 and previously spent nearly three decades at Marmite maker Unilever. He revived Britain’s biggest supermarket after revealing an accounting scandal, which threatened the future of the business.

His appointment marks a significant coup for the drinks maker, which owns more than 200 brands including Johnnie Walker whisky, Smirnoff vodka, Baileys Irish Cream and Don Julio tequila. He replaces Debra Crew, a former captain in US military intelligence who stepped down as the Diageo chief in July after a rocky tenure, with investors unhappy about the company’s lacklustre performance.

He will resign as chairman of consumer healthcare firm and Panadol-maker Haleon at the end of December to take the helm at Diageo.

A shock profits warning in 2023 followed a post-covid rebound in alcohol consumption, and since then, Diageo has struggled against global consumer headwinds. In February, it dropped its long-term sales target.

It has struggled with supply chain issues, misjudging waning demand in Latin America and leaving it overstocked while UK pubs had to ration Guinness in the run-up to last Christmas, just as festive demand increased.

The company has also been hit by Donald Trump’s US trade tariffs and last week issued a profit warning, saying it expected 2026 sales to be flat or slightly lower, which sent its shares to 10-year lows. Sales were flat in the three months to 30 September, with growth in Europe, Latin America and Africa offset by weak sales of Chinese white spirits and weaker-than-expected US consumer spending.

Lewis has chaired Haleon since the consumer health business was spun off by GSK in 2022, and will step down from this role on 31 December.

When Lewis took the helm of Tesco, the supermarket giant was in crisis. It had a mountain of debt after years of empire building under former chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, and discovered a gaping black hole in its accounts.

During a five-year turnaround, Lewis went back to basics, focused on how Tesco’s prices and products compared with rivals such as Aldi and Lidl, halved the £22bn debt pile and slashed costs.

The Guardian