The Board of Directors of Diageo plc appointed Sir Dave Lewis to the role of Executive Director, effective on 1 January 2026. Dave is a proven CEO with extensive marketing and brand building experience. He has an outstanding track record leading global consumer businesses, growing world-class brands, and providing operational and financial rigour.
Dave served as Group CEO of Tesco plc from 2014 to 2020, where he transformed the business and, prior to this, spent nearly three decades at Unilever, latterly in Executive Committee roles, leading on both marketing and business performance. Additionally, Dave has been the Chair of Haleon, a global leader in consumer healthcare,since its creation in 2022 and is a non-executive board director of PepsiCo Inc. Dave will be stepping down from the Haleon role on 31 December 2025. Dave is also a Trustee for The Royal Foundation and the Chair of the World Wildlife Fund in the UK.
In recognition of his contribution to business and the food industry in the United Kingdom, Dave was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the 2021 New Year's Honours List. The announcement of Diageo's new CEO reflects the outcome of a rigorous process, conducted by the Board with external support, over the last few months. The process considered both internal and external candidates.
The Board examined all candidates against its priorities that the new CEO must be able to deliver a return to consistent and sustainable growth, refresh the strategy to deliver shareholder value in a potentially evolving TBA landscape and understand and deliver for customers and consumers - both for and into the future. Sir Dave Lewis joins Diageo from Haleon Plc, where he has been Chair since 2022, having joined from Tesco Plc, a multinational retailer, where he served as Group Chief Executive Officer of Tesco plc, from 2014 until September 2020. Prior to joining Tesco, he served for 28 years in a variety of management positions with Unilever plc, a global consumer products company.
His last two roles, President Americas and Global President for Personal care were on the Global Executive team. Dave is a non-executive director with PepsiCo and Chairman of Xlinks, a privately owned renewable energy business. He is also a Director of A Birds Eye View and Operating Advisor of CD&R LLP.
Dave also serves on the board of a non-profit and charitable organisation as Chair of the World Wildlife Fund-UK. Previously, he served on the Sky plc Board from 2012 to 2016 and was also chair of Champions 12.3, a UN programme seeking to add momentum to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Target 12.3 by 2030, and co-chair of the Consumer, Retail and Life Sciences Business Council, which was established to advise the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In recognition of his contribution to business and the food industry in the United Kingdom, Dave was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the 2021 New Year's Honours List.
He is also appointed as Trustee of the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Dave is married and has two daughters.
