The Dove soap to Hellmann's mayonnaise giant needs to revive its underperforming food business, while also managing tricky price negotiations with retailers feeling the squeeze from inflationary pressures and a cost of living crisis. Encouragingly for Schumacher, who worked as a finance manager at Unilever more than 20 years ago before heading to Ahold, he was warmly welcomed by activist investor and Unilever board member Nelson Peltz - who has a long track record of shaking up consumer goods companies, including Heinz.
The British consumer products maker said its board would start a formal search for a successor to Jope, a Unilever veteran who took up his role at the start of 2019, considering both internal and external candidates.
Unilever CEO Alan Jope plans to retire at the end of 2023, the maker of Dove soap and Knorr stock cubes said on Monday, roughly two months after activ.