New Chairman For Diageo
Diageo has announced that Javier Ferrán (pictured) will be appointed to the Diageo board as a non-executive director from 22 July 2016 and will be appointed chairman on 1 January 2017 on the retirement of Dr Franz Humer, who has held the position for the last eight years. Javier Ferrán is a partner at Lion Capital having been a founder partner since 2005. Prior to that he spent over 10 years at Bacardi, latterly as president and chief executive. He is currently a non-executive director at SAB Miller, Associated British Foods and Desigual, and a member of the advisory board of Agrolimen and the ESADE Business School. Mr Ferrán will not seek re-election to the Board of SAB Miller at their AGM on 21 July 2016.
Lord Davies of Abersoch, senior non-executive director, chairman nominations committee, remarks: “The board is delighted that Javier has agreed to be the next chairman of Diageo. He has experience across the consumer sector, given his career at both Lion Capital and Bacardi, and he has demonstrated his ability to enable companies to drive value through the rigorous deployment of capital. He therefore brings a strong set of skills and experience to the role of chairman.”
Javier Ferrán says: “It will be a privilege to chair the Diageo board. The company is in a strong position with leading brands, geographic reach and financial strength. It now has a consumer facing culture and a rigorous approach to the decisions it makes.”
Ivan Menezes, chief executive of Diageo, says: “I am very pleased to welcome Javier to the Diageo board. He brings a wealth of experience to the role of chairman. On behalf of everyone at Diageo I want to thank Franz for the role he has played in making Diageo the strong business it is today. The appointment of someone of Javier’s ability as Franz’s successor is a tribute to all that Franz has contributed to Diageo. Diageo is executing a clear strategy with discipline in order to deliver accelerated top line growth, greater productivity and continued strong cash flow. I look forward to working with Javier as we build Diageo’s leadership position and achieve our ambition.”
