Diageo names WPP finance chief Joanne Wilson as new CFO

Sky News·22 Sep 2026·

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Diageo is finalising the appointment of Joanne Wilson, currently finance chief of the London-listed marketing services group WPP, as its new chief financial officer, Sky News has learnt. An announcement could come as soon as Wednesday morning. If confirmed, the move reunites Wilson with Diageo chief executive Sir Dave Lewis, her former colleague at Tesco, and marks the latest stage of a transformation of Diageo's leadership team by Sir Dave, who took over as chief executive of the Guinness and Johnnie Walker producer earlier this year. Wilson, who joined WPP just three-and-a-half years ago, spent more than a decade at Britain's biggest grocery retailer, including a stint as finance chief of dunnhumby, Tesco's data analytics division. At Diageo, which is also in the foothills of a significant transformation programme, she will replace Nik Jhangiani, who had been tipped as a contender to take the FTSE-100 drinks group's top job on a permanent basis and is expected to leave the company. Sir Dave announced last month that Diageo would invest heavily in a number of mass-market brands, including Smirnoff and Captain Morgan, with capital freed up by a cost-cutting exercise which will ultimately lead to a significantly reduced workforce. It was unclear on Tuesday night whether WPP had had time to prepare for the appointment of an interim finance chief, or how long a notice period Wilson would be held to at the marketing services group. Diageo declined to comment, while WPP has been contacted for comment.

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