Lipscomb departure changes Diageo brief

Peter Lipscomb, corporate affairs head at food and drinks giant

Diageo, is retiring next June after 15 years. The company is not

expected to replace him.

Lipscomb oversees more than 20 staff, including four divisional heads:

corporate communications director Lynn Shepherd; government and industry

affairs director Mark Leverton; corporate citizenship director Geoffrey

Bush, and Laurie Sherwood, head of security.

The company has not finalised its plans for the corporate affairs brief,

but it is likely to be split, with Shepherd, Leverton, Bush and Sherwood

reporting to different departments.

Because the majority of Diageo’s government relations work covers the

heavily regulated drinks sector, Leverton already reports to Jack

Keenan, CEO of drinks arm, UDV, as well as Lipscomb.

Meanwhile, corporate communications, which covers internal and external

relations, events, publications and the corporate web site, may come

under human resources in the new structure. Lipscomb joined Guinness -

the company that was merged with Grand Met to create Diageo - as MD of

the UK brewing arm in 1985.

- Guinness has recruited Nexus Choat account director Lindsey Sexton to

head its PR in the UK. Lindsey will work with a team of three handling

mainly consumer PR, and with Guinness’ agency, the Red Consultancy. She

will oversee a review of the brewer’s agency needs when she arrives.