Diageo's in-house lawyer quits

The top in-house lawyer at drink and leisure conglomerate Diageo has quit, The Lawyer can reveal.

Dr Ken Mildwaters has resigned as general counsel and group legal director, and will leave the company at the end of June.

Diageo was formed in 1997 following the merger of leisure giants Guinness and Grand Metropolitan.

Mildwaters, who joined Guinness from Theodore Goddard in 1993, is, according to Diageo, planning to spend more time in "his role as a visiting scholar at Harvard Business School".

A company spokesman says: "Ken has made an enormous contribution to the development of the legal function and played a central role in the achievement of the merger."

Mildwaters will be re-placed by company secretary Roger Myddleton, who will also take on responsibility for legal matters at group level.