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 1 January, Sir Dave Lewis will become chief executive of the FTSE 100 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 the Marmite maker Unilever. He revived Britain’s biggest supermarket chain 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 two-year tenure, with investors unhappy about the company’s lacklustre performance.
Nik Jhangiani, the former chief financial officer who had been tipped as a frontrunner for the permanent job, will continue to lead the business on an interim basis until the end of the year, and then return to his CFO role.
A shock profits warning in 2023 followed a post-Covid rebound in alcohol consumption. Since then, Diageo has struggled as consumers have reined in spending and many younger people drink less than older generations. In February, it dropped its long-term sales target.
The company has struggled with supply chain issues, misjudging waning demand in Latin America and leaving that market overstocked while UK pubs had to ration Guinness in the run-up to last Christmas, just as festive demand increased.
Diageo 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 this year, 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. He will also give up his role as an operating adviser at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a US private equity firm that acquired Morrisons in 2021 in a £7bn deal.
It is understood that Lewis will continue to chair the renewable energy company Xlinks, which had hoped to build the world’s longest subsea power cable from Morocco to Britain but failed to gain government support for the project.
Diageo shares were the biggest riser on the FTSE 100, up 7%, while Haleon shares fell as much as 1.4% before recovering, trading broadly flat.
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 the 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.
Known as “drastic Dave” at Unilever for his cost-cutting, at Tesco he closed unprofitable divisions such as electricals, slimmed down its international arm and slashed thousands of jobs.
Sir John Manzoni, Diageo’s chair, who led the succession process on behalf of the board, said Lewis would take Diageo into its “next successful chapter in the evolving consumer environment”.
Lewis said: “The market faces some headwinds but there are also significant opportunities.”
Separately, Haleon said it had promoted Vindi Banga, senior independent director on its board, to succeed Lewis as chair next year. Banga – who worked with Lewis at Unilever during his 33-year spell at the consumer goods company – also chairs UK Government Investments Limited ,is a partner at CD&R, and has sat on the boards of GSK and Marks & Spencer.
Matt Britzman, a senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Lewis brings deep experience in consumer brands from his time leading Tesco and decades at Unilever, though he lacks direct exposure to the spirits industry.
“Investors may welcome his strong marketing pedigree, but any major strategic reset will take time, leaving near-term focus on navigating tough trading conditions.”
