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Major shareholders in Diageo have expressed disquiet over its failure to name a new chief executive this week after the Guinness owner unveiled a profit warning that sent its shares down to ten-year lows.
The board of the FTSE 100 drinks group has considered external candidates for the chief executive role, with names such as outgoing GSK boss Dame Emma Walmsley being floated, according to people familiar with the situation.
This is despite interim chief executive Nik Jhangiani being widely tipped for the role on a full-time basis. Jhangiani said in August at Diageo’s full-year results that he expected the company to name a full time replacement for Debra Crew by the end of October.
This week’s trading statement — which included a profit warning — and the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday passed with no mention of the new chief executive, sending shares lower. They have fallen 32 per cent in 2025 to £17.26.
Kai Lehmann, senior analyst at Flossbach von Storch, a top 10 Diageo shareholder, added that investors are “becoming increasingly puzzled as to why it’s taking so long”, adding: “The market needs clarity . . . We would like to see a solution in place soon.”
Another UK-based institutional investor said the lack of an announcement this week was surprising.
Diageo told the Financial Times: “We are making good progress with our search for a new CEO and will update the market in due course.”
Crew, who led Diageo for two rocky years, resigned in July after concluding she had lost the board’s support amid widespread speculation that Jhangiani, then chief financial officer, was angling to replace her. He was appointed interim chief executive in the aftermath. Well liked among institutional investors since he joined as CFO in 2024, Jhangiani was widely expected to be confirmed as permanent boss this week.
Despite earning the respect of shareholders, Jhangiani has failed to quell internal unease. Since Crew’s exit in July, members of Diageo’s senior leadership have expressed concerns to the chair, Sir John Manzoni, over the circumstances leading to Crew’s exit, three people familiar with the matter said.
One added that the issues raised with the board may slow down the appointment process. Another person briefed on the search said that Jhangiani’s permanent appointment to the role was far from certain.
The delay in naming Crew’s successor has also stalled major strategic decisions in case an external hire arrives with a different plan, two other people close to the company said.
A Diageo spokesperson said: “We categorically deny that the chairman, or the board, has received representations from senior management. The board has undertaken a rigorous search process to identify a new CEO, which includes both globally leading internal and external candidates.”
External candidates considered included Walmsley, according to several people familiar with the situation.
Walmsley, who will leave GSK next year, served on the board of Diageo for a brief period in 2016. Julie Brown, GSK’s chief financial officer, is a current director.
A person close to GSK said Walmsley has not engaged in any discussions with the company or its board and has no interest in the position. Diageo declined to comment on the matter.
But the ongoing leadership uncertainty has come amid a global downturn in alcohol demand and investor discontent on performance. Diageo on Thursday lowered its forecast for sales and profit growth this year on lacklustre Chinese spirits demand and a weaker than anticipated US consumer environment, sending shares lower.
Ben Needham, UK equity fund manager at Ninety One, said Diageo’s brands are “incredibly vulnerable” to potential takeovers amid the turbulence at the company. “I’m surprised that we haven’t heard something clearer on the succession, given all this.”
Another large Diageo shareholder said: “No one has proffered a better name” than Jhangiani.
The investor added that Jhangiani’s £8.5mn Diageo stock award also provided ample motivation. While proxy adviser Glass Lewis advised shareholders to vote against the remuneration report on the basis that there was insufficient rationale for the awards, which are not performance-based, 89 per cent backed it at Thursday’s AGM.
Additional reporting by Hannah Kuchler, Ashley Armstrong and Ivan Levingston in London