US – Diageo, a British multinational alcoholic beverage company, has announced the appointment of Debra Crew as the new chief operating officer, effective October 1, 2022.
Debra Crew, the current President of North America and Global Supply, will take accountability for driving continued performance momentum across Diageo’s markets and supply operations globally during her tenure in the new role.
With Debra’s appointment, former president of US spirits and Canada, Claudia Schubert, will take over the president of North America role and will join the Diageo Executive Committee.
Since Debra’s appointment as President of the North America unit in 2020, Diageo said she has embedded greater external focus and connectivity across the market’s teams and strengthened commercial execution.
Her efforts have resulted in market share gains and 20% organic net sales growth in fiscal 2021, and 13% organic net sales growth in the first half of fiscal 2022, according to the company.
Prior to joining Diageo, Debra was the former president and CEO of Reynolds American, Inc., having previously served as president and chief operating officer, and president and chief commercial officer.
Debra had also spent five years at PepsiCo, where she served as president, North America Nutrition; president, PepsiCo Americas Beverages; and president, Western Europe Region.
Precedent to PepsiCo, Debra held positions with Kraft Foods, Nestlé S.A., and Mars, Inc. She currently serves on the board of Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE: SWK).
Shubert brings 20 years of experience to her new role
Meanwhile, Diageo commented that Schubert has been instrumental in reshaping the market’s strategy, putting in place a strengthened route to market since her appointment in the previous role in 2018.
She has also helped in building trusted partnerships with Diageo’s distributors in order to deliver strong growth.
Claudia brings 20 years of market and category experience to Diageo, having led the company’s Continental and Eastern Europe, US Wines, and US Control States businesses.
Ivan Menezes, Diageo’s CEO, commented: “Diageo has a world-class executive team with significant strength and depth of experience. Debra and Claudia have proven track records as outstanding leaders inside and outside our company. “
Their appointments will ensure that we continue to adapt to the changing environment so that we can deliver our performance ambition while making a positive impact wherever we work, source, and sell.”
Menezes added he is excited to work more closely with Debra, who will report to him directly, in her new role, and with Claudia to continue to build momentum and deliver long-term sustainable growth and value creation.
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