Diageo appoints Nik Jhangiani as subsequent finance boss

Incoming: Nik Jhangiani intends to join Diageo as chief financial officer this autumn

The finance boss of Coca-Cola’s largest bottler is moving to Diageo as the Guinness producer seeks to boost struggling sales.

Nik Jhangiani intends to join Diageo as chief financial officer this autumn following an eight-year spell at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), which earned over €18billion in turnover last year.

He will replace Lavanya Chandrashekar, who has been the company’s CFO since July 2021 but wants to return to the United States.

Jhangiani has worked in senior roles within the Coca-Cola system for two decades, including at another of its major anchor bottlers, Hellenic Bottling Company.

He also spent time at Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises and began his career employed at accountancy group Deloitte & Touche and pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb.

His appointment at Diageo comes as the FTSE 100 company struggles to achieve the impressive growth achieved under former bosses Paul Walsh and Sir Ivan Menezes, who died shortly after standing down as chief executive last year.

In the final six months of 2023, Diageo’s revenue fell by 1.4 per cent to £8.6billion due to unfavourable exchange rates and demand slumping across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Trade across the territory was hit by lower sales of spirits, such as Johnnie Walker, Buchanan’s, and tequila brand Don Julio.

Turnover was further impacted by a weak performance in North America, its largest market, due to sliding rum and vodka volumes.

Despite robust results in Europe, partly caused by bumper Guinness sales across the British Isles, Diageo’s half-year profits declined by 11 per cent to £2.6billion.

Debra Crew, the firm’s chief executive, admitted the period had been ‘challenging’ but said organic net sales and operating profits are anticipated to improve in the second half of the financial year.

Crew became CEO last June, succeeding Menezes, who helped boost Diageo’s market value from £42billion to around £75billion during his decade in charge.

The former US Air Force officer spent only nine months as Diageo’s chief operating officer until she was promoted to the top job.

She previously worked for Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Mars, and PepsiCo and ran the tobacco group Reynolds American until its takeover by British American Tobacco.

Crew told investors that Jhangiani has ‘a proven global track record of generating growth across multiple consumer businesses and industries. Nik’s experience and international mindset will make him a strong addition to our leadership team.’

Jhagiani said he had ‘long admired’ Diageo, calling it ‘one of the world’s most respected and trusted consumer businesses.

‘I look forward to working with my new colleagues to drive value for Diageo’s shareholders, and to support the company’s strong track record of building and sustaining exceptional brands.”

Diageo shares were 1.1 per cent up at 2,758.5p on Friday morning but have plunged by approximately a quarter over the past 12 months.