The news: Unilever abruptly replaced CEO Hein Schumacher after less than two years. He will be succeeded by the company’s CFO, Fernando Fernandez, starting March 1.
How we got here: The unanimous decision to oust Schumacher reflected concerns from Unilever’s board that the company’s recovery was not proceeding as quickly as anticipated. That’s in spite of the CEO’s assertion less than two weeks prior that the company was “ahead of plan” in its push to improve productivity and restore volume growth.
- During his short tenure, Schumacher moved to spin off Unilever’s ice cream unit—thereby ridding it of problem child Ben & Jerry’s—and focused on the company’s largest markets and power brands. Those moves helped it increase underlying sales by 4.2% YoY and volumes by 2.9% YoY in 2024.
- But that wasn’t enough for the higher-ups: “While the board is pleased with Unilever’s performance in 2024, there is much further to go to deliver best-in-class results,” chairman Ian Meakins said in a statement announcing the leadership change.