Unilever’s CEO, Schumacher, will resign after less than two years at work

Uneilever The CEO, Hein Schumacher, will resign after less than two years at work, said the company on Tuesday, with the current financial director Fernando Fernández to take his place leading the company.

Schumacher, who took the reins in July 2023 and had the task of leading the revision of the consumer goods giant, will retire as CEO and director of the Board in March and leave the company on May 31. His departure is making a mutual agreement, said the consumer goods signing.

Fernández’s new role will enter into force on March 1.

Unilever said there were no changes in its perspective of 2025 or the company’s medium term orientation after this announcement.

The shares decreased around 1.6% at 12:29 pm in London.

“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Hein for reset , in a statement.

“While the Board is satisfied with the performance of Unilever in 2024, there is much more than offering better results in the class. Having worked with Fernando closely in the last 14 months, the Board trusts its ability to lead high performance equipment Management, perform the benefits of the gap (growth plan) urgently and deliver the value of the shareholders required by the company’s possible ones, “Meakins added.

Srinivas Phatak, the current CFO and the Unilever group controller, will take over CFO interim. An internal and external search that is now starting to permanently fulfill the role, the company added.

Diana Radu, Morningstar Variable Income Analyst, said the announcement was “unexpected”, especially given the recent higher performance of the company versus pairs in the space of consumer goods.

“There is nothing in the company’s recent performance to guarantee such movement,” he said. “In fact, Unilever has delivered a strong 18 -month period under its leadership, marked by a greater disciplined approach and execution.”

Unilever did not provide more comments on the decision when CNBC contacted.