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Sir Dave Lewis to lead Diageo – what does this mean for the drinks giant, its markets, and its supply chain?

November 2025 by Ralph Blackburn

Sir Dave Lewis to lead Diageo – what does this mean for the drinks giant, its markets, and its supply chain?

Diageo has confirmed that Sir Dave Lewis will become Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director on 1 January 2026– a significant leadership move for one of the world’s most influential premium drinks businesses.

A seasoned CEO with deep experience in global consumer brands, Dave Lewis brings a rare mix of grocery, FMCG and board-level governance to Diageo’s corner office. As Group Chief Executive of Tesco from 2014 to 2020, he led a complex turnaround of the UK’s largest retailer. Before that, almost three decades at Unilever saw him take on Executive Committee roles spanning both marketing and business performance, helping to shape some of the world’s best-known consumer brands.

Alongside this, Lewis has chaired Haleon, the global consumer healthcare business, since its creation in 2022, and serves as a non-executive director at PepsiCo. He will step down from the Haleon role on 31 December 2025as he prepares to join Diageo. Beyond corporate life, his work as a Trustee of The Royal Foundation and Chair of WWF UK, together with his knighthood in the 2021 New Year’s Honours Listfor services to business and the food industry, underlines a career that straddles commercial performance and wider societal impact.

For Diageo’s Board, led by Chair Sir John Manzoni, this appointment follows an extensive global search and represents a clear choice for experienced, brand-led leadership at a time of shifting consumer behaviour and economic uncertainty. Interim CEO Nik Jhangiani will continue to lead the business through to the end of December 2025 before resuming his role as Chief Financial Officer, supported by Deirdre Mahlan as Interim CFO during the transition.

Lewis himself has acknowledged both the “headwinds” and “significant opportunities” facing Diageo. With a portfolio spanning global icons and fast-growing premium brands, the challenge will be to convert that brand strength into resilient, sustainable growth across regions, channels and consumer occasions.

From a UK Food Council perspective, this is more than a senior appointment at a blue-chip company. Diageo’s decisions influence:

• Global beverage and hospitality markets– from on-trade venues and casual dining to travel retail and e-commerce.

• Agricultural and ingredient supply chains– spanning grain, barley, botanicals, packaging and logistics in multiple countries.

• Customer and consumer expectations– on price, quality, responsible drinking, health, sustainability and provenance.
  
  

As Diageo enters this new chapter under Dave Lewis’s leadership, key questions now arise for everyone connected to the business:

• What does this appointment mean for Diageo’s long-term strategy, portfolio choices and approach to brand investment?

• How might this leadership change affect the wider drinks, hospitality and retail markets in which Diageo operates?

• What will it mean in practice for the farmers, producers, logistics partners and other suppliers who underpin Diageo’s value chain?

• And how will customers and consumers – from major retailers and bar operators to individual shoppers – experience the impact of this new leadership in price, quality, service and responsibility?
  
  

These are the questions the UK Food Council will be watching closely as Sir Dave Lewis prepares to take the helm at Diageo in 2026.

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