Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes awarded knighthood for ‘services to business and equality’

By James Bayley

Published: 03 January, 2023

Ivan Menezes, Diageo's Indian-born CEO, has received a knighthood in King Charles' first New Year’s Honours list.

The 63-year-old is one of Britain's longest-serving FTSE CEOs, overseeing Diageo’s dominance in the global premium drinks market, which accounts for 10% (£2bn) of the UK’s total food and drinks exports.

Menezes joined Diageo in 1997 and held various senior positions before his appointment as CEO in 2013.

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The citation for the award highlights the work Menezes has done to make Diageo more sustainable and his championing of women and the BAME community at Diageo – 42% of Diageo’s senior leadership positions globally are held by women, while 37% are ethnically diverse.

Reflecting on his knighthood Sir Ivan Menezes said: “I am incredibly honoured to receive this award on behalf of my 28,000 colleagues at Diageo. Their creativity, passion and drive have enabled Diageo, a British company to become a truly global leader making a positive contribution to the communities we serve.

“Everyone at Diageo is committed to shaping a more sustainable and inclusive business and society and I am very proud to accept this honour in recognition of what has been achieved so far.”

He was chairman of Movement to Work from 2017-20, a UK voluntary organisation committed to tackling youth unemployment delivering 100,000 structured work placements for young people, with over 55% of participants securing permanent jobs.

Furthermore, during the pandemic, he produced more than 10 million bottles of hand sanitiser for healthcare workers around the world (including the NHS).

Diageo has approximately 100 Scotch whiskies in its portfolio, including Johnnie Walker, J&B, and single malts like Lagavulin, Talisker and Cardhu. It also counts Smirnoff vodka, Captain Morgan’s rum, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Tanqueray’s gin and Guinness stout among its big-name brands.

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