A tribute to Diageo CEO Sir Ivan Menezes
By Nicholas Robinson 8
June 2023
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The long retirement awaiting Sir Ivan Menezes, 63, after a distinguished
and hugely successful career at Diageo has been cruelly taken away. His
untimely death, after a short illness, occurred 23 days before he was due to
stand down. But no-one can be in doubt about his contribution to the drinks
giant during his decade in the role.
It was widely felt that Sir Paul Walsh would be a difficult act to
follow when he handed over the reins to Menezes in July 2013 after
a 13-year-stint as CEO in which the former Guinness plc had been transformed.
But after initially struggling in the role, in part due to a
historically large portfolio of underperforming global brands, the former COO
blossomed as a leader and took Diageo to
new levels.
As the leader of a UK plc Diageo is an especially important business,
accounting for £1 in every £10 of the UK’s food and drink exports. But Diageo
is also a global goliath, and it was getting the balance right between
strong local and strong national that was key to his tenure, as when, for
example, he sold 40 mainstream Indian brands in the country of his birth to
Inbrew Holdings in 2022.
But it’s his taste for acquiring celebrity booze brands for which
Menezes will perhaps best be remembered. And they demonstrated his confidence
amply. The $1bn (£802m) price tag paid out for the George Clooney-backed Casamigos tequila brand in
2017 raised more than a few eyebrows. But like the buyout of Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation American Gin
for £466m in 2020, it paid off.
The legacy Menezes leaves behind is one of tangible overperformance for
investors. Shareholders reaped a generous 127% return through his radical
decisions, compared to the wider FTSE100’s 17%.
Diageo also embraced sustainability wholeheartedly under Menezes,
becoming one of the top 1% of companies globally to achieve a ‘Double A’ rating
for water security and climate change, while his strong support for diversity
& inclusion, in which Diageo ranked number one in the UK, and number two
globally in Equileap’s 2023 Gender Equality Report was cited alongside his
business contribution as a reason for Sir Ivan’s knighthood in the King’s New
Year’s Honours earlier this year.
Born in Pune, India, in 1959, Menezes studied at St Stephen’s College in
Delhi and then the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. He held dual UK
and US citizenship during his tenure as CEO and was married to Shibani, with
two children, Nikhil and Rohini.
Although his career didn’t begin at Diageo, having previously worked in
marketing and strategy roles at the likes of Nestlé and Whirlpool, the bulk of
it was served there. It began on Diageo’s 1997 formation through the merger of
Guinness (where he was strategy director) and Grand Metropolitan.
”Ivan played a critical role – as integration director – when
the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan created Diageo 25 years ago,”
Walsh said in tribute. “He then led our highly successful North American business
for a decade. As CEO from 2014, he brought the sharpest focus on the needs of
the consumer and shopper. He was completely committed to building a diverse
global business. He is a massive loss to us all.”
Chairman Javier Ferrán said Menezes created an extraordinary legacy,
which he built through serving in many management roles, as well as five senior
roles including North America president and Asia Pacific chairman.
The first inkling of a potential health issue emerged on Monday (5 June)
when it was announced Debra Crew, the incoming CEO, would start with immediate
effect after Menezes was hospitalised by an apparent stomach ulcer. Reports
have since suggested other health conditions caused complications during
surgery, following which he died.
But as many of the followers Menezes has garnered during his career have
voiced in tribute, his legacy will stretch long into the future.
Ivan Menezes
was a Goan born in Pune. His father was born in Bardez, Goa, started as a
railway engineer for Indian Railways and advanced to become the chairman of the
Indian Railway Board. Ivan born in 1959, studied in Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad and
Evanston, Illinois. He joined Diageo rose to become CEO and was also awarded a
Knighthood in King Charles 2023 New Year’s honours list for services to
Business and Equality. May his soul rest in eternal peace.
Rather sad, his wife is from Verna,
he's from Pomborba. (Ch F)
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