Diageo chief executive Debra Crew has quit with immediate effect and will be replaced on an interim basis by the embattled drinks group’s finance boss, after falling alcohol sales and waning investor confidence battered its share price.

Diageo (DEO) announced that chief executive Debra Crew has stepped down with immediate effect, Arash Massoudi, Madeleine Speed and Anjli Raval of Financial Times reported. This reportedly follows a period of declining alcohol sales and weakening investor sentiment that weighed heavily on the company’s share price.

Debra Crew stepped down as CEO of Diageo after a challenging tenure marked by a significant drop in Latin America sales and declining volume sales amid volatile macroeconomic conditions. Nik Jhangiani,