INTERVIEW
RAISING A GLASS...
• In the last six months of 2010, Russia and Eastern Europe grew net sales of more than 20 per cent
• In North America, sales of vodka grew with the launch of the Cîroc and RÖKK brands
• In Latin America and the Caribbean, scotch brands achieved double digit volume growth
• In Africa, beer sales grew in East Africa, Nigeria and Cameroon while scotch sales grew in South Africa
• India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Korea delivered double digit net sales growth in Asia Pacifi c
THE SHORT STORY: PAUL WALSH
• Claims to have inherited his father’s work ethic, his mother’s organisational skills and his confi dence from both parents
• After university, worked with the Co-op as an accountant for six years
• In 1987, moved to the US to become CEO of Pillsbury
• Became COO of Diageo on 1 January 2000 and CEO on 1 September 2000
• Cites his favourite drinks as Johnnie Walker Black Label and Guinness
of them excites me,” he says. “I say that not to be coy. We know whatever plans we have, there are going to be issues and developments that conspire against them. The fact that we are in so many countries allows us to offset problems in one market with upsides in another. The sheer diversity of our geographical mix gives us incredible resilience.”
MEASURED THOUGHTS But more than emerging economies, the faltering world stock markets or his own role within Diageo, there is one topic that currently vexes Walsh – namely the imposition of the 50 per cent tax band for those earning more than £150,000 a year. While Walsh admires a great deal of current Government policy when it comes to spending cuts, he is concerned about the potential damage caused by the 50 per cent tax rate for higher earners. It’s a familiar argument and one which causes strong feelings on both sides. “I believe the 50 per cent tax rate in the UK will lead to the long-term damage of this nation’s competitive edge,” says Walsh. “We will not be able to base people here, and increasingly we will have to look at locating our quality people into lower-tax jurisdictions.”
When it comes to the ongoing market turmoil and the dramatic falls in indices across the globe in recent weeks, Walsh remains sanguine. He does not believe we are heading for a second recession and, despite his stated concerns over the 50 per cent tax rate, he has some words of encouragement for Chancellor George Osborne. “I don’t believe this is going to turn into a double dip,” he says. “I believe recent statistics are a reaction to some new realities that have been forced on to the market. I suspect, although I don’t know, this is an over-reaction, and in time we will see some of these fi gures recover. That said, I think the situation is serious, particularly with those countries and governments that are failing to balance their budgets.
BRITISH SPIRIT
“I actually think in the UK we should have a great deal of pride in the fact that we have grasped this nettle. We may not like it, but we have grasped it, we are making cuts in government spending, we are doing many of the things that a lot of other countries and governments have failed to face up to. While we may not always lead politically
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