New finance chief named for Diageo to replace the outgoing Deirdre Mahlan

Mikells fills the role vacated by former CFO Deirdre Mahlan after she was parachuted in to run the FTSE 100 drinks company’s troubled North American business earlier this year.

Ms Mikells had spent much of her career at United Airlines and was chief financial officer there between 2008 and 2010. Mikells will be based in the company’s London office. Mikells will remain with Xerox until October 31, 2015 in order to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities. Leslie Varon, vice president of Investor Relations, will serve as interim chief financial officer until a permanent successor is named. Diageo said she has a track record for capital discipline, for developing strong cost cultures and for creating efficient, agile organisations. “Kathryn has the experience of working with teams to drive disciplined performance management which will contribute to the achievement of our performance ambition”, said Chief Executive Ivan Menezes.

Mahlan is taking up a new role in charge of Diageo’s North America arm. She will step down from the printer company at the end of the month and joins Diageo, which also produces Guinness, on November 9.

“Diageo has a clear and compelling strategy and I am looking forward to working with Ivan and the team to deliver it”, she said.