It had been clear that the news about Sir Ivan Menezes was unlikely to be good following Diageo’s announcement on Monday that he had suffered complications during surgery for a stomach ulcer. It was nevertheless shocking to learn this morning that he has died aged only 63.
At a time when the business leadership of this country is in the news for all the wrong reasons, it is worth reflecting that Britain is still blessed with some world class captains of industry — as they used to be known.
Sir Ivan was one of them. He led Diageo for a decade, which by itself tells a story in an era of CEO boardroom revolving doors.
He was there in 1997 when Diageo was created through a blend of Guinness and the former Grand Metropolitan hotels and pubs giant. In his time Diageo grew into one of the world’s biggest and most successful drinks companies, accounting for 10% of all the UK’s food and drinks exports.
It is number one by net sales value in Scotch whisky, vodka, gin, rum, liqueurs, and also tequila, a category in which he correctly anticipated a boom in demand.
He was also an early supporter of some of the causes to which some UK companies have been noticeably late adopters.
In 2008 there were no women on Diageo’s executive committee, today more than half are female, including his successor as CEO. Diageo was ranked the number one company in Britain for female leadership representation in 2021 in the final Hampton Alexander Review. Finally he was by all accounts a decent man to work for.
We should all raise a glass tonight.
