Diageo’s brand of risk management

UK-based drinks company Diageo owns some of the most widely known brand icons in the consumer goods industry, and sells them all over the world. This creates particular challenges for David Pimm, its director of global business risk, in managing operational and currency risk, as Rachel Wolcott finds out

Diageo, the UK-based premium drinks company, may only be seven years old, but it owns some of the oldest wine, spirits and beer brands in the world. Guinness, Dom Perignon and Johnnie Walker are all names with a lot of history behind them. More recently, Diageo introduced alcopops to the world with its Smirnoff Ice drink.

Behind these brands, which are often associated with a certain amount of