Unilever appoints Hein Schumacher as new CEO

Unilever announced the appointment of Hein Schumacher as its new Chief Executive Officer, following an extensive, global search process. Hein will replace Alan Jope, who announced in September 2022 his intention to retire from Unilever.

Hein 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 1 July 2023, after a one-month handover period.

Hein 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 turnover business operating in over 40 countries, he has delivered significant portfolio and organisation change as part of transforming it into a more focused, growth-driven and sustainable business.

Prior to joining Royal FrieslandCampina as CFO in 2014, Hein worked for H.J. Heinz for over a decade – during a time of significant change at the company – across the US, 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.

Hein Schumacher will receive annual fixed pay of €1.85m, be eligible to receive annual bonus and Performance Share Plan awards, and relocation support, all in line with Unilever’s existing remuneration policy. His salary puts him at the median of our benchmark companies.

He will also receive share-based awards to replace the loss of incentive payments from his previous employer. Further details of his remuneration arrangements will be set out in the 2022 Directors’ Remuneration Report.