Diageo Australia has announced changes to its executive leadership team, including a newly created Head of Premix Growth.

Two Commercial Excellence teams have been established, one focused on bottled spirits and the other exclusively on the premix/RTD format, which Diageo said reflects its strategic importance in the market.

The new Premix Growth team will lead transformation, development and execution across strategy, production, and distribution and will work closely in partnership with Diageo’s brand teams.

It will be headed by Jodi McLeod (above), who has overseen some of Diageo’s most iconic brands in her 10 years with the company, including Bundaberg Rum and Johnnie Walker.

Additionally, Nicole Dennis has been permanently appointed as Commercial Director. Dennis has been in the Diageo business for 10 years and has held several key roles in the Australian commercial team across both on- and off-premise customer channels.

Most recently, she was on secondment with our South Korea and Japan businesses where she led commercial transformation for the last two years. Since returning to the Australian business as acting Commercial Director three months ago, Nicole has already had an incredible impact, demonstrating outstanding commercial acumen, along with her commitment to our customers, to performance and to partnership.

Diageo said she was the standout candidate through a rigorous global recruitment process, bringing to the role a deep understanding of both Diageo’s business and the Australian market landscape.

From September, current Diageo Australia Finance Director Mark Harvie will move to a new role in the Diageo business and returning to the role will be Lisa McElduff.

McElduff was previously in the Diageo Australia business in several finance roles between 2004 – 2020. Most recently she was Finance Director for Diageo Great Britain.

As part of her remit, Diageo said McElduff will bring her global leadership and strategic experience to the executive leadership team, playing a critical role in shaping and executing the business’ long-term growth strategy.