diageo said friday that interim chief executive officer debra crew has been appointed ceo effective as of thursday the londonbased maker of johnnie walker scotch whisky guinness stout and smirnoff vodka had named crew interim ceo on monday ahead of her planned joining date as ceo in july 1 on wednesday diageo said that longtime chief executive ivan menezes died after a short illness he was 63 crew first joined the liquor giant as a nonexecutive director in 2019 before stepping down from the board the following year to lead the companys business in north america its largest market she was promoted to chief operating officer in october 2022