Consumer products giant Unilever appoints Hein Schumacher as new CEO

Unilever has announced the appointment of Hein Schumacher as its new chief executive officer, following an extensive, global search process. He will replace Alan Jope, who announced in September 2022 his intention to retire from Unilever.

Schumacher (above) is currently CEO of the global dairy and nutrition business Royal FrieslandCampina and became a non-executive director of Unilever in October last year. He will begin as Unilever CEO on July 1, 2023, after a one-month handover period.

According to Unilever, Schumacher is a business leader with an excellent track record across multiple leading companies in the consumer goods industry. As CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina, an €11bn sales business operating in over 40 countries, he has delivered significant portfolio and organization change as part of transforming it into a more focused, growth-driven, and sustainable business.

Prior to joining Royal FrieslandCampina as CFO in 2014, Schumacher worked for H.J. Heinz for over a decade — during a time of significant change at the company — across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. In his last four years at Heinz, he was based in China, where he led a turnaround of the Asia Pacific zone. Hein began his career in finance at Unilever, before joining Royal Ahold NV.

Established over 100 years ago, Unilever is one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, with products in categories such as nutrition, beauty and wellbeing, personal care, ice cream, and home care.

Above: Incoming Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher — “I am delighted to have been appointed to lead Unilever. 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 around the world who use its products every day.”