Diageo has tapped Sir Dave Lewis to lead the world’s largest spirits maker into its next chapter, ending a months-long search following former CEO Debra Crew’s departure in July.
Lewis, who previously spent six years as chief executive of the UK supermarket chain Tesco and nearly three decades at Unilever, will take over as CEO in January, Diageo announced Monday. He succeeds interim CEO Nik Jhangiani, who will return to his role as chief financial officer after guiding Diageo through the second half of 2025.
The appointment caps an “extensive global search,” according to Diageo chair Sir John Manzoni, who said in a statement that the board unanimously backed Lewis for his “proven leadership skills in building and marketing world-leading brands.” The company considered both internal and external candidates to find a successor who could “deliver a return to consistent and sustainable growth” in a challenging global spirits market, the company said in a statement.
Lewis’s arrival follows a period of turbulence at the Casamigos and Johnnie Walker parent. Crew departed suddenly in July after just a year in the role, having succeeded long-time leader Sir Ivan Menezes, who died in 2023.
The leadership change comes as Diageo works to steady performance in the U.S. and China, its two most challenging markets. In its most recent quarterly update, the company reported flat organic net sales year-over-year, with declines of 2.7% in North America – its largest market – driven by weaker spirits sales and increased competition in tequila. Diageo has since trimmed its fiscal 2026 sales and profit outlook.
Lewis arrives as an outsider to the spirits industry, with a background that spans consumer goods, healthcare and retail. At Tesco, he led a high-profile turnaround of the struggling grocer following a 2014 accounting scandal. Most recently, Lewis chaired consumer healthcare group Haleon since its formation in 2022 – a role he’ll leave at year’s end.
“Diageo is a world leading business with a portfolio of very strong brands, and I am delighted to be joining the team,” Lewis said in a statement. “The market faces some headwinds but there are also significant opportunities.”
Lewis will receive an annual salary of approximately $2 million (£1.5 million) plus pension contributions and performance-based incentives, according to Diageo.