John O'Keeffe

Mr. John O’Keeffe holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University College Cork, Ireland, specialising in Economics and Marketing. He joined Diageo in 1994 and has held a number of leadership positions, including Brand Manager, Diageo Ireland; New Product Development Manager, Diageo Ireland; Guinness Brand Manager, Diageo Ireland (based in Dublin); Marketing and Innovation Manager, Diageo Jamaica; Marketing Director, Diageo Jamaica/Caribbean; Marketing Director, Diageo Nordics; Commercial and Innovation Director, Diageo Nordics; General Manager, Diageo Sweden and Finland; Managing Director, Diageo Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) markets (based in Moscow); Managing Director Diageo Russia and Eastern Europe; and Global Category Director Beer and Baileys.

Mr. O’Keeffe was appointed Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria with effect from 14 November 2014 and was later promoted to the role of President, Diageo Africa in July 2015. Mr. O’Keeffe was elected as the Vice Chairman of the board with effect from 19 September 2016. He is the Chairman of the Governance and Remunerations Committee of the board. He lives in the Republic of Ireland.