Diageo, one of the world’s largest producers of alcoholic beverages, has a female CEO for the first time. The company announced Tuesday that general manager Debra Crew will succeed Ivan Menezes. That makes Diageo the largest company in the UK headed by a woman.
Diageo is known for making Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Baileys, among others. The liquor maker has announced that CEO Ivan Menezes is retiring after a successful 10-year career with the company that saw its share price nearly double.
Current general manager, Debra Crew, will take his place. Diageo said in the statement. Crew joined the company in 2019 and will be promoted to CEO on July 1. This means that more than half of the company’s executive committee will be women.
Diageo is the seventh largest company in the UK, by full market value, according to the Financial Times Stock Exchange Index. With her appointment, Crew will become one of fewer than ten female business leaders in the FTSE 100 index. Louise Beardmore will also soon join that list, when she takes over the water company in May United Utilities takes over.