Diageo has announced its former CFO Deirdre Mahlan has returned to the role on an interim basis, after Nik Jhangiani stepped up to become interim CEO earlier this month.
Mahlan was Diageo CFO between 2010-2015 before leaving to head up the spirits giant’s North America unit until 2020, when she retired to be replaced by former Diageo CEO Debra Crew.
She was most recently interim CEO of The Duckhorn Portfolio prior to its sale to Butterfly Equity and is currently a non-executive director at Kimberly Clark.
“Deirdre brings extensive spirits and functional expertise to the interim chief financial officer role, complemented with deep knowledge of Diageo and its operations,” said Jhangiani. “I am delighted that she has agreed to return on an interim basis and I have full confidence that she will provide invaluable guidance to our teams, and partner with me as we deliver on our Accelerate programme to drive long-term sustainable growth.”
Mahlan was “a safe pair of hands” who knew the Diageo business well, wrote Jeffries analyst Ed Mundy in a note to clients.
“Whilst she is returning on an interim basis, there is potential optionality to return to an operational role, if required,” Mundy added.
The appointment comes with Diageo preparing to announce its financial results for the year ended 30 June 2025 next week.
The results come a matter of weeks after the departure of ex-CEO Crew, who parted ways with Diageo after two years by mutual consent on 16 July.
Crew had failed to convince investors she was the right candidate to turn around Diageo’s fortunes, having assumed the role in June 2023 after the death of Ivan Menezes.
In her first year in charge, the company was forced to issue a profit warning after sales unexpectedly dipped in Latin America.
The slump led to Diageo’s first full-year sales decline post-Covid, with group sales falling by 0.6% in the year to 30 June 2024.
Diageo returned to growth in the first six months of its current financial year, but scrapped medium-term sales targets amid uncertainty over the impact of US tariffs and weak consumer confidence.
It has outlined plans to cut $500m in costs by 2028, with Jhangiani hinting major brands could be sold as part of the shake-up in May.
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