Diageo boss ‘drastic’ Dave Lewis eyes £20m pay deal as 2,000 jobs slashed
Diageo boss Sir Dave Lewis could take home as much as £20m in pay for the next year, it has emerged, while the drinks giant sheds 2,000 staff.
The chief executive of the Guinness and Smirnoff maker could make as much as £20m in the year to June 2027, though he is more likely to make about £9m, according to the firm’s annual report.
This would still nearly triple the final pay packet of his predecessor, Debra Crew, who departed the FTSE 100 firm with immediate effect in July last year.
Sir Dave’s is poised to take home a bumper pay packet while preparing to slash jobs across the drinks company.
The executive, dubbed “drastic” Dave for his reputation for dramatic turnarounds, has reportedly told some of his teams to cut up to 30 per cent of their headcount.
Lewis could take home £20.02m next year if he meets performance targets and sees Diageo increase its share price by 50 per cent.
Without the share price bonus, Lewis could be paid £15m if he takes home all available bonuses, though the group said his “target” remuneration is £9.4m.
This is still more than double the £3.6m Crew was paid in her last full year in charge. Nick Jhangiani, who served as interim chief executive before returning to his role as finance chief, could take home as much as £10.6m next year.
Lewis’ bumper bonus deal relates to a new long-term incentive scheme being proposed by Diageo, which will be put to shareholders in November.
The incentive plan covers the three years from June 2026 and could allow Lewis to claim as much as £15m in September 2029.
Diageo consulted investors representing about 40 per cent of its shareholding before proposing this new pay model, it is understood.
Lewis, who took charge of Diageo in January, was paid £1.4m for the year to the end of June.
Diageo sheds jobs
Even before Lewis formally kicked off his turnaround plan, the drinks giant had already slashed nearly 2,000 jobs.
Total headcount at the group fell six per cent to 27,938 in the year to June, according to Diageo’s report. The majority of these cuts came in Africa, which lost 928 jobs, while 405 corporate roles were slashed across the business.
Earlier this month, Lewis told shareholders that there is “hard work ahead” in his efforts to boost sales and profit amid tight consumer spending.
Diageo’s posted a three per cent dip in sales to $19.6bn in the year to June, as Lewis unveiled a $850m (£631m) cost-cutting plan.
A spokesperson for the group said: “Our 2026 Directors’ Remuneration Policy will be put forward to shareholders for approval at our AGM in November following a comprehensive review by the Remuneration Committee.
“Against the backdrop of a challenging operating environment for our sector, our proposed Remuneration Policy is designed to both retain and attract the highest quality leadership required to deliver our new strategy, a turnaround in key markets, and improve our financial performance to deliver long term value for shareholders.”