Debra Crew joined Diageo in 2019 and became CEO in 2023 after the sudden illness and death of Ivan Menezes.
But her tenure was immediately marred by a severe 23% drop in Latin America sales after the company vastly overestimated post-COVID demand for premium spirits, leading to a shock profits warning.
The company has continued to suffer in a volatile macroeconomic industry, with volume sales declining 3.5% in FY 2024 (year ending June 30, 2024).
Yesterday Diageo announced that Crew would step down from her role as CEO with immediate effect.
Nik Jhangiani, who joined Diageo as Chief Financial Officer in September, has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer on an interim basis. His background includes top finance positions at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola European Partners, Bharti Enterprises, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company and Colgate Palmolive.
Meanwhile, the Board has already begun a formal search process for a new CEO which will consider both internal and external candidates.
John Manzoni, Chair, Diageo plc, said in a statement: “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.”
Guidance for fiscal 25 and 26 remains unchanged from the last forecast in May, 2025. Diageo will report its fiscal 2025 full year results on August 5.
Verushka Shetty, an equity analyst at Morningstar, notes that Crew has faced heavy scrutiny from investors, with Diageo’s share price falling more than 43% since June 2023.
“Crew assumed the role in a declining environment, and conditions have worsened since,” she said.
“Key bumps in the road for Diageo include mismanaged inventory in Latin America, missed targets, and tariff headwinds.”
However, Diageo remains a large company with a diverse portfolio of top brands, which includes high flyer Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Captain Morgan, Smirnoff, Baileys, Don Julio, DeLeon and more.
“Despite the fall in share price, we maintain our fair value estimate still view Diageo as a high-quality stock. In fact, we think there is a buying opportunity with shares currently undervalued,” said Shetty.
“Diageo’s entire portfolio is the strongest in the industry, based on aggregate brand power. We think Diageo’s current focus on cash generation and portfolio streamlining will put the firm in a better position to secure growth opportunities as the environment improves.”
