Diageo appoints Nik Jhangiani as its next finance boss
- Nik Jhangiani is chief financial officer at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
- He replaces Lavanya Chandrashekar, who has been CFO of Diageo since July 2021
- In the last six months of 2023, Diageo’s sales fell 1.4% to £8.6 billion
Incoming: Nik Jhangiani plans to join Diageo as Chief Financial Officer this fall
The financial boss of Coca-Cola’s biggest bottler is switching to Diageo as the Guinness producer looks to boost struggling sales.
Nik Jhangiani plans to join Diageo this fall as Chief Financial Officer after an eight-year stint at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), which achieved sales of more than €18 billion last year.
He replaces Lavanya Chandrashekar, who has been the company’s CFO since July 2021, but wants to return to the United States.
Jhangiani spent 20 years in leadership positions within the Coca-Cola system, including at another major bottler, Hellenic Bottling Company.
He also spent time at Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises and started his career at accounting group Deloitte & Touche and pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb.
His appointment to Diageo comes as the FTSE 100 company struggles to deliver on the impressive growth achieved under former bosses Paul Walsh and Sir Ivan Menezes, who died shortly after stepping down as CEO last year.
In the final six months of 2023, Diageo’s sales fell 1.4 percent to £8.6 billion due to unfavorable exchange rates and slump in demand in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Trade across the area was hit by lower sales of spirits such as Johnnie Walker, Buchanan’s and tequila brand Don Julio.
Sales were further impacted by weak performance in North America, its largest market, due to declining rum and vodka volumes.
Despite robust results in Europe, partly driven by soaring Guinness sales in the British Isles, Diageo’s half-year profit fell 11 percent to £2.6 billion.
Debra Crew, the company’s chief executive, admitted the period had been “challenging” but said organic net sales and operating profit were expected 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 £42 billion to around £75 billion during his ten years in charge.
The former US Air Force officer served as Diageo’s chief operating officer for just nine months until she was promoted to the top job.
She previously worked for Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Mars and PepsiCo and led the Reynolds American tobacco group until its acquisition 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 companies.”
“I look forward to working with my new colleagues to create value for Diageo shareholders and support the company’s strong track record of building and sustaining exceptional brands.
Diageo shares were 1.1 per cent higher at 2,758.5p on Friday morning, but have fallen by around a quarter in the past 12 months.