Ivan Menezes joined Diageo in 1997 and held various senior management positions with Guinness and then Diageo until 2004 when he was appointed president of Diageo Venture Markets. Prior to his appointment as COO in March 2012, Menezes was president and CEO of Diageo North America for eight years. During this period he was also made chairman, Asia Pacific from October 2008 and chairman, Latin America & the Caribbean from July 2011. In September 2017, he became chair of the CEO Group at the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, a global not-for-profit organization dedicated to addressing harmful drinking and promoting responsible drinking.