Sir Ivan Menezes has decided to retire as chief executive and will depart the Diageo board on 30 June, following 10 years leading the company.
Debra Crew, currently chief operating officer, will take his place and join the board the following day.
He joined the drinks giant through the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997 and has held a number of senior positions in the business, including chief operating officer; president of Diageo North America; chairman of Diageo Asia Pacific; and chairman of Diageo Latin America and Caribbean.
Menezes has been an executive director since July 2012 and has served as chief executive since July 2013.
During his tenure, Diageo has grown significantly, now selling more than 200 brands in more than 180 markets, becoming the number one company by net sales value in Scotch whisky, vodka, gin, rum, Canadian whisky, liqueurs, and also tequila; a category in which only eight years ago the company had no substantive position. Also, in December 2022, Guinness became the number one beer in the on-trade in Great Britain for the first time.
Prior to being appointed chief operating officer in October 2022, Crew was president of Diageo North America and global supply, leading Diageo's largest market to 14% organic net sales growth in fiscal 2022, following on from 20% organic net sales growth in the prior year.
She originally joined the board as a non-executive director in April 2019, before stepping down when appointed president of North America in July 2020.
Crew is the former chief executive of Reynolds American., where she delivered strong growth before the company's acquisition, having previously served as president and chief operating officer and chief commercial officer. Prior to that, she spent five years at PepsiCo, where she served as president of North America nutrition; president of Americas beverages; and president of western Europe. She has also held positions with Kraft Foods, Nestlé and Mars.
Javier Ferrán, Diageo chair, said: "The board is enormously grateful for Ivan's contribution over the past decade.
"Under his stewardship, Diageo has consistently delivered a truly impressive performance to become one of the most respected businesses in the world. Ivan has transformed Diageo's global footprint, brand portfolio and strategic focus, positioning our business as a clear leader in premium drinks.
"The board has diligently planned for Ivan's successor, and we are delighted to have appointed a leader of Debra's calibre to the role.
"She has deep consumer industry expertise as well as proven strategic capabilities, strong operational performance and a clear ability to build and lead teams."
Menezes commented: "It has been an enormous honour leading Diageo over the past decade and I am extremely proud of what we have achieved during that time.
"I would like to thank my 28,000 talented colleagues around the world for all of their hard work, creativity and passion.
"I am delighted to be handing over the reins to Debra - in the time that we have worked together, I have been consistently impressed with her passion for growth and for building high performing teams."
Crew added: "Ivan leaves Diageo in a very strong position for future growth and I look forward to working with our teams around the world to capture the opportunities ahead.
"I am focused on continuing Diageo's extraordinary track record of building world-leading brands and enhancing our reputation as one of the most responsible businesses in what I believe to be the most exciting consumer products category."
Menezes is one of Britain's longest serving FTSE bosses.
He championed gender and ethnic diversity, pushing the company towards 47% of its executive committee to be female, and 47% also ethnically diverse.
Menezes is also a non-executive director of Tapestry, chair of the council of The Scotch Whisky Association and a member of the global advisory board at Kellogg School of Management.
Crew's new remuneration package will include an annual salary of $1.75m and a pension contribution of 14% of base salary.
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