Hina Nagarajan to lead Diageo Africa

By MWorld Team Mar 4, 20250

Diageo has announced the appointment of Hina Nagarajan as the new President of Diageo Africa, effective April 1, 2025. Nagarajan returns to the African market, where she previously served as the Managing Director of Africa Emerging Markets.

Her appointment follows her recent transition from Managing Director and CEO of Diageo India to a position on Diageo’s Global Executive Committee. Nagarajan stepped down from her leadership role at Diageo India earlier this year after nearly four years at the helm. She was succeeded by Praveen Someshwar.

Reflecting on her tenure, Nagarajan expressed pride in the company’s achievements under her leadership. “Over the past four years as MD & CEO of Diageo India, it has been my honour to lead a passionate and dedicated team. Together, we have achieved remarkable milestones, delivered strong financial performance, navigated challenges, and celebrated numerous successes,” she said.

She highlighted the company’s strong growth trajectory, noting that business growth nearly tripled between 2021 and 2023 compared to the 2016-2021 period. “With our continued focus on premiumization, our Prestige & Above segment growth doubled, growing by 11.9% and contributing 87.4% to our total net sales for the financial year ending March 2024,” she added.

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Before joining Diageo, Nagarajan held key leadership roles at Reckitt, including Senior Vice-President and Regional Director of North Asia.

Meanwhile, as part of a broader leadership restructuring, Dayalan Nayager, who has served as President of Diageo Africa since July 2022, will succeed John Kennedy as President of Diageo Europe. Kennedy had been serving as interim President for Europe after initially departing Diageo in 2023.

Despite the transition, Nayager will continue in his role as Chief Commercial Officer of Diageo. Over the past 12 years, he has overseen Diageo’s Global Travel Retail division and its operations in France, Ireland, and Great Britain. He was also instrumental in key divestitures in Africa, including the US$81 million sale of Diageo’s majority stake in Guinness Ghana Breweries to Castel Group