Diageo CFO to be president of North American business

Diageo said on Tuesday that its chief financial officer Deirdre Mahlan is to be appointed as the president of its North American business.

She will replace Larry Schwartz who, as previously announced, is due to retire by the end of this calendar year.

The company said Mahlan’s replacement will be announced in due course and until that time she will continue in her current role as CFO.

Diageo chief executive Ivan Menezes said: “Deirdre has been an exceptional CFO and has the skills, together with experience of the market, to lead the next stage of growth in North America.”

At 1414 BST, Diageo shares were down 0.2% at 1,852.50p.