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Sir George Bull dies aged 88
Sir George Bull, who was instrumental in the merger that created drinks giant Diageo, died last month at the age of 88.
London-born Bull previously joined the Coldstream Guards through National Service in 1954 before entering the world of advertising and drinks.
Bull had family connections to the drinks trade, with his mother, Noreen Madeleine Mary Hennessy, being related to the famed Cognac dynasty. Indeed, one of his first jobs was at wine merchant Twiss, Browning & Hallowes, which imported Hennessy into the UK.
Twiss, Browning & Hallowes would then become International Distillers and Vintners (IDV), and Bull himself would become the director of the company in 1972, the same year it became part of Grand Metropolitan Group. In 1984 he was promoted to IDV chief executive, and in 1995 he was made group chairman.
It was in 1997, reportedly after a dinner with Guinness chairman Anthony Greener, that a merger was proposed which ultimately resulted in the formation of Diageo. Bull would serve as joint chairman from the company’s inception until he stood down the following year.
It was after this that he moved into the world of retail, holding the position of J Sainsbury PLC chairman from 1998 until 2004, when Bull, then in his late 60s, retired.
Describing his approach to drinks marketing, Bull, who is credited with boosting the recognition of brands including Bailey’s Irish Cream and Smirnoff, said: “It’s no longer just a matter of producing widgets, it’s much more a question of adding value to the widgets and then marketing and selling them around the world. My mission is to persuade companies to get their arms around marketing, understand it, see how it can help them. It is now irrefutably proved that companies which are good at marketing produce better results over time for their shareholders than those which don’t.”
Bull was knighted in 1998, four years after he received the Legion d’Honneur.
He died on 21 July and is survived by his five children.
The Worshipful Company of Distillers, which made Bull a distiller in 1996 and an honorary steward in 2017, paid tribute: “One of the most influential leaders of our industry in the modern age, he was an inspiring leader and a consummate businessman with a warm and generous nature encouraging generations of young people to succeed in our industry.”
A Diageo spokesperson told the drinks business: “It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Sir George Bull. At Diageo we often say that we stand on the shoulders of the giants who founded our iconic brands. Sir George was truly one of those giants. His innovative, creative, forward-thinking outlook still inspires us today, and he’ll be greatly missed.”
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