Diageo Board Moves to Replace CEO Debra Crew After 43% Plunge in Shares

Diageo’s board has decided to part ways with CEO Debra Crew, following a brutal 43% drop in the company’s share price since her appointment in June 2023. Despite her efforts to reassure investors—emphasizing the company’s strong brand portfolio—the steep downturn triggered a leadership shake-up aimed at restoring confidence.

📉 What Triggered the Slump?

• Diageo issued a profit warning early in Crew’s tenure, blaming a sharp sales collapse in Latin America and the Caribbean due to excess inventory and weak consumer demand.
• Key markets face sluggish footfall as pandemic-era sales momentum faded, and growth in premium spirits stalled.
• Macro pressures including US trade tariffs and global cost-of-living pressures further dimmed sales projections.

🚨 Tracker of the Decline

• The share price fall marks the worst for Diageo under one leader, erasing nearly half of its market value.
• Investor sentiment cooled, with some blaming strategic missteps and questionable demand forecasts for the crisis.

🛠️ What’s the Board Doing?

• Interim CEO roles are being considered—most notably CFO Nik Jhangiani, who earned investor praise last year, emerges as a top candidate.
• A sweeping $500 million cost-cutting program is underway, including potential asset sales to free up capital and simplify operations.
• Earlier, the company scrapped its mid-term sales growth target in response to weakening global demand.

🔄 Leadership & Strategic Shake-Up

• Crew—who became CEO after the sudden death of Ivan Menezes—has emphasized Diageo’s roughly 13 “billion-dollar brands” and defended the downturn as cyclical rather than structural.
• The board is now seeking fresh leadership with sharper strategic clarity and stronger investor appeal.

📅 What to Watch

• Nomination of interim and permanent CEO later this year.
• Progress updates on cost-cutting, asset disposals, and clarity around future growth targets.
• Whether new leadership can reinvigorate investor confidence and stabilize the share price.