Tesco duo reunited as Guinness-maker raids WPP for CFO

The finance chief of London-listed marketing services group WPP is quitting in the middle of its turnaround to be reunited with her former Tesco colleague, the Diageo chief executive Sir Dave Lewis.

Sky News has learnt that Diageo was on Tuesday finalising the appointment of Joanne Wilson as its new chief financial officer.

An announcement could come as soon as Wednesday morning.

If confirmed, it will mark the latest stage of a transformation of Diageo's leadership team by Sir Dave, who took over as the Guinness and Johnnie Walker producer's chief executive earlier this year.

Ms 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 the 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.

Mr Jhangiani 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 Ms Wilson would be held to at the marketing services group.

Diageo declined to comment, while WPP has been contacted for comment.

(c) Sky News 2026: Tesco duo reunited as Guinness-maker raids WPP for CFO