Ivan Menezes, the Indian-born chief executive of global alcoholic beverage giant Diageo, has received a knighthood in King Charles' first New Year’s Honours list.
Menezes, who has been Diageo’s CEO since 2013, has grown its global reach and turned the drinks giant into one of the strongest performers amongst the big corporations on London’s FTSE stock exchange.
The citation for his award highlights the fact that he has also been a champion for women and BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities) in the United Kingdom.
Menezes graduated from Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and did his MBA at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Ahmedabad. He later worked at Nestle India and then went to the US for further studies.
The citation for the 63-year-old Menezes’ award notes that he’s one of “Britain’s longest-serving FTSE chief executives and has transformed Diageo into the world’s leading premium drinks company.”
Diageo has received particular praise for having a large number of women at all levels. The citation for his knighthood mentions that 42 per cent of the company’s senior leadership positions are held by women. Also, six out of the company’s 14 executive committee members are women, including the chief financial officer and the head of North America. Debra Crew, the recently appointed chief operating officer, is widely tipped to be Menezes’ successor if he steps down in 2023 or 2024 as some observers expect. Diageo India also has a woman CEO, Hina Nagarajan.
Diageo’s women-oriented moves have gained Menezes a place in what’s called the Heroes 35 Advocate Executive List, dedicated to creating a more inclusive working world for women.
In November, Menezes announced a POUNDS STERLING 1-billion investment in sustainability and community initiatives and to tackle alcohol-related harm.
Diageo is the maker of around 100 Scotch whisky brands. including the bestselling Johnnie Walker, J&B, and single malts like Lagavulin, Talisker and Cardhu. It’s also the producer of blockbuster brands like Smirnoff vodka, Captain Morgan’s rum, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Tanqueray’s gin and Guinness stout.
Under Menezes, the company has been on an acquisition spree, most recently buying Balcones, a Texas-based maker of craft whisky and American single malt whisky. Earlier this year, Diageo acquired Casa UM, maker of premium artisanal mezcal brand Mezcal Union. In October, it announced that it was upping its stake in East African Breweries in which it already had a controlling interest.
Menezes said this year that India’s economy growth, demographics and fondness for whisky make it an attractive market for Diageo. The company is hoping that India strikes a free-trade deal with the UK that will reduce current 150 per cent tariffs on scotch whisky.
Diageo has been toasting bumper sales as drinkers opt for more premium spirits as they emerge from the pandemic.
Diageo has also been making strenuous efforts to be environmentally responsible and recently announced it was teaming up with leading glass manufacturer, Encirc, to build an ultra-low carbon-hybrid glass furnace that will produce 200 million net-zero carbon emission bottles.
Menezes was the chairman of Movement to Work from 2017-2020, “a UK voluntary organisation committed to tackling youth unemployment delivering 100,000 structured work placements for young people with over 55 per cent of participants securing permanent jobs.” He was also a member of the British-Asian Trust’s Founders Circle. During the pandemic Diageo produced more than 10 million bottles of hand sanitiser for healthcare workers.
Menezes comes from a high-achieving family. His brother Victor Menezes was a senior vice chairman of Citibank and his father Manuel Menezes was chairman of the Indian Railway Board.
