Unilever reveals Hein Schumacher will replace Alan Jope as CEO

Unilever has appointed the head of one of the world’s largest dairy cooperatives to succeed Alan Jope as its new CEO.

Hein Schumacher, 51, currently heads Royal FrieslandCampina, a Dutch supplier of dairy and food products with approximately 23,000 employees worldwide and an annual turnover of more than €11 billion.

Prior to joining the company, he spent more than a decade working for HJ Heinz, famous for its ketchup and baked beans, becoming president in China and eventually the entire Asia-Pacific region.

The Dutch businessman started his career as a financial manager at Unilever, which appointed him a non-executive director three months ago, and also spent time at retailer Royal Ahold.

He will take charge of the consumer goods giant, owner of the Magnum Ice Cream, Dove Soap and Hellman’s Mayonnaise brands, in early July after a month-long handover period.

Unilever said Schumacher would receive an annual salary of €1.85 million (£1.62 million), alongside bonuses and performance-related awards, as well as share-based awards to offset FrieslandCampina’s loss of incentive payments.

The chairman, Nils Andersen, said Schumacher is “a dynamic, values-driven business leader with a diverse background of experience and an outstanding track record of delivering in the global consumer goods industry.”

He added, “He has exceptional strategic capabilities, proven operational effectiveness and strong experience in both developed and emerging markets.”

Unilever Shares were 0.7 per cent higher at £40.50 late Monday morning, similar to their value when Scottish-born Jope became CEO in January 2019.

Jope revealed in September last year that he would step down amid investor criticism of the company’s management, including the failed £50bn bid to buy GSK’s consumer healthcare division.

The pharmaceutical multinational eventually decided to spin off the unit, home to brands like Sensodyne toothpaste and Corsodyl mouthwash, into a separate publicly traded company known as Haleon.

Fund manager Terry Smith compared the failed takeover to a ‘near death experience’ in a letter that also denounced Unilever’s poor sales growth compared to other fast-moving consumer goods companies.

Smith has further accused Marmite’s owner of being “obsessed with publicly displaying sustainability credentials” at the expense of improving more fundamental aspects of the business.

In its most recent third quarter results, Unilever revealed that sales were up 17.8 percent year-on-year as price increases and favorable exchange rate movements offset declining product volumes.

The group has raised prices faster than some of its rivals in response to rising energy, wage and food costs, but this puts it at high risk of losing customers, said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

She said: “While Unilever operates in the consumer goods sector, a part of the market generally considered to be relatively resilient in an economic downturn, the company is facing challenges due to rising costs and the risk of consumers switching to unbranded, cheaper alternatives. Products.

Unilever has tried to offset cost pressures by raising prices, but this could dampen demand amid cost-of-living pressures and weaken relationships with retailers, who are also facing already tight margins. ‘