Unilever Appoints Dutch Dairy Chief as New CEO

Hein Schumacher, CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina, will succeed Alan Jope in July.

Unilever, a British consumer goods company, named Hein Schumacher, the current CEO of Dutch dairy and nutrition firm Royal FrieslandCampina, as its new CEO on Monday.

The Dutchman, who joined Unilever as a non-executive director in October, will succeed Alan Jope as CEO at the start of July, according to a statement from the company.

Magnum ice cream, Cif surface cleaner, and Dove soap are among the company’s key household brands.

Schumacher, 51, has been CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina since 2018 and previously worked for the US food giant Heinz.

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“Hein is a dynamic, values-driven business leader with a diverse background of experiences and an excellent track record of delivery in the global consumer goods industry,” said Nils Andersen, chairman of Unilever. “The board looks forward to Hein realizing Unilever’s full potential as a winning business that delivers long-term growth and value for all of its stakeholders,” he added.

Jope, who was born in Scotland, will leave Unilever after facing intense pressure from activist investors following a failed takeover bid. He has been the group’s CEO since 2019 and has been there for 37 years.

ope leaves after Unilever’s failed $50 billion bid for GlaxoSmithKline’s former health care unit in early 2022. In response, Jope cut approximately 1,500 management jobs worldwide in a major restructuring widely perceived as an attempt to appease disgruntled investors. He announced his departure in September of last year.

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Schumacher expressed his “delight” at being named CEO of Unilever. “In my time on the board, I have only grown more convinced of Unilever’s fundamental strength and clear growth potential,” he said. “I will be very focused on working with the Unilever team to deliver a step-up in business performance as we serve the billions of people who use its products daily around the world.”

Unilever became a wholly British company under Jope at the end of 2020 after a merger of its Dutch and British corporate entities.

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