Gráinne added “I’m honoured to receive this award. The role of senior marketers has never been more critical – to bring the voice of the consumer into the board room, providing navigation and inspiration for our businesses within the environments they operate and to use the power of our brands, and our role as story tellers to shape society for the better.”

Gráinne Wafer is Global Director Beer, Guinness, Baileys, and Smirnoff accountable for leading three of Diageo’s top five global brands and is a member of both the Diageo Global Marketing and Senior Management teams.

Gráinne also leads Diageo’s progressive marketing programme globally and is an advocate for inclusivity and diversity across the advertising and marketing industries. She is the Diageo representative for the UNstereotype Alliance, Creative Equals and WFA D&I Taskforce amongst key industry partnerships. 

Gráinne has enjoyed over twenty years with Diageo working on a wide variety of brands, in local, European and global roles spanning communications, brand marketing, innovation and commercialisation.

Grainne was Global Brand Director on Baileys and Roe & Co, delivering a complete brand transformation on Baileys globally. Most recently, as Global Brand Director of Guinness, she spearheaded a new strategy and growth agenda for the brand reshaping the marketing model to be community led, resulting in unprecedented double-digit growth for the Guinness brand globally.