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Tribute to Sir Ivan Menezes, Diageo CEO

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• 03 July 2023

An inspiring global icon, beloved in East Africa

I received the incredibly sad news of the passing of Sir Ivan Menezes on a busy morning in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania while on a business trip with the Africa and EABL leadership team at Serengeti Breweries. And it was devastating for everyone.

Although I had the privilege to interact with Ivan many times, my immediate memory of this consummate, charismatic leader sprang back to May last year when he joined us for EABL’s centenary celebrations at the Nairobi National Park. Ivan was always a cheerful soul and a sharp business mind, whose passion and inspiration for our people, brands, and communities was second to none.

His vision for East Africa was clear and we worked towards making EABL, a Diageo jewel business, one of the best performing, most trusted, and respected companies. Ivan’s captivating charm inspired many, whether on a trade visit to Kiambu, interacting with our brewery employees at Tusker, or casually engaging with our young Digitribe team.

His calm yet very energetic demeanor and constant smile radiated across many meetings, stirring vibrant conversations and endearing him to all our colleagues. When speaking last year at the Nairobi National Park last year, Ivan was clear on three things.

Firstly, his belief in the long-term impact of our investments behind our great people, brands, and in CAPEX. Ivan led the business in supporting our employees and trade during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was also instrumental and present when we committed and finalized many of our CAPEX projects, for example, the construction of our Ksh 14-billion Kisumu brewery, now benefitting hundreds of thousands of people in Western Kenya across our Senator value chain.

Secondly, he was critically conscious of our duty as good corporate citizens and expected us to be a force for good. Ivan was at the vanguard of our pioneering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts. Whilst he was pleased with our Kshs 5 billion biomass plant at our Ruaraka brewery during his visit last May, he reminded us about staying true to our commitment to deliver a positive impact on society everywhere we operate, for the next 100 years and beyond.
He was a firm believer in inclusion and diversity, as part of our global agenda. Noting that our Board and leadership representation has grown tremendously over the last decade, Ivan challenged us to ensure inclusion and diversity were alive wherever we operate.

Thirdly, he reminded us that we have been and continue to be a central part of a culture of celebration, for the many triumphs we achieve in life, big or small. Celebrating life was central to his life, just as our people and our brands help many more do. I vividly remember his poignant reminder that, despite the many challenges of the last 100 years of EABL's existence, we have emerged stronger, and we will continue to be for the next 100 years.

He said: “Many of us may take this for granted but I think the events of the last few years have made us reflect more deeply on the need for celebrating our moments when we have time and space to do so.”

No wonder, he had a special place for EABL and East Africa – and he visited Kenya with family many times on holiday enjoying our diverse culture and wildlife – living true to our purpose: Celebrating life every day, everywhere. As we marked 100 years last year, Ivan made a commitment to invest Kshs 100 million to support elephant conservation efforts.

On behalf of our Board, leadership team, and the entire EABL fraternity, I join the Diageo family in sending a message of sympathy to his family for this deep loss. I will personally miss Ivan greatly, but memories of his extraordinary legacy will forever remain etched in our hearts.


Go well, Ivan.

Ms. Jane Karuku,
Group MD & CEO, EABL PLC