Spirits giant Diageo has announced the appointment of Debra Crew as its new chief operating officer, and Claudia Schubert as president of its North America division, effective 1 October 2022.
Currently, Crew serves as the president of the company's North America and global supply divisions.
Debra Crew
In her role as chief operating officer, Crew will be accountable for the company's performance across Diageo’s markets, brands, and supply operations globally, and will continue to report to chief executive, Ivan Menezes, the drinks group said.
In July 2020, Crew was appointed president, North America, where she strengthened commercial execution, resulting in market share gains and 20% organic net sales growth in fiscal 2021, and 13% organic net sales growth in the first half of the 2022 fiscal year.
Crew is the former president and CEO of Reynolds American, Inc., having previously served as president and chief operating officer, and president and chief commercial officer.
Prior to that, Crew spent five years at PepsiCo, while she also held positions with Kraft Foods, Nestlé S.A., and Mars, Inc. She currently serves on the board of Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.
Read More: Diageo Sees First-Half Sales Raised By High-End Spirits
Claudia Schubert
In addition to her new role as president of Diageo's North America division, Claudia Schubert will also join the company's executive committee.
Since being appointed president of the group's US Spirits and Canada unit in 2018, Schubert has reshaped its strategy, put in place a strengthened route to market, and developed partnerships with Diageo’s distributors to deliver strong growth, the company said.
In 2021, organic net sales grew 24% in the US Spirits segment, and 15% in the first half of 2022.
Schubert brings 20 years of market and category experience, having led the company’s continental and Eastern Europe, US Wines, and US Control States businesses. She began her career as a management consultant with Boston Consulting Group.
'World-Class Team'
Commenting on the appointments, Diageo chief executive Ivan Menezes said, "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. I am excited to work more closely with Debra in her new role, and with Claudia as she joins the Executive Committee, as together we continue to build momentum and deliver long-term sustainable growth and value creation for all our stakeholders."
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest drinks news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
