PANJIM: A great son Goa and CEO of global liquor major Diageo plc, makers of ‘Johnnie Walker’ whiskey, Sir Ivan Manuel Menezes passed away on Wednesday after a brief illness.
Born on July 10, 1959, in Pune, Ivan held UK and US citizenships, as well as Overseas Citizenship for India. He was hospitalised in London recently for stomach ulcer.
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Knighted by the British government in January 2023, Ivan was supposed to retire from the Board of Diageo on June 30, 2023.
Incidentally his brother Victor Menezes, is former Chairman and CEO of Citibank. He was the CEO of Diageo since 1 July 2013, succeeding Paul S Walsh and was due to retire at the end of this month.
On account of his illness and hospitalisation, Diageo had announced CEO-designate Debra Crew as the interim CEO.
He was an alumnus of St Stephen’s College, Delhi, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad & Kellog School of Management, Illinois.
Upon his death, UK’s newspaper The Guardian stated, “Diageo’s market value almost doubled from £42bn to £75bn under the leadership of Menezes, who developed one of the world’s most famous marketing campaigns in the brand-reviving ‘Keep Walking’ ads for Johnnie Walker starting with Harvey Keitel in 1999.”
Sir Ivan’s father, late Manuel Menezes, was Chairman of Indian Railway Board.
