By Yadarisa Shabong and Chandini Monnappa
(Reuters) – Unilever’s board, which includes billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz, was unified in its decision to oust CEO Hein Schumacher, a source familiar with the board’s thinking told Reuters.
The board’s surprise move to replace Schumacher with finance chief Fernando Fernandez was because of the view that he was the right man to accelerate the group’s turnaround strategy, the source said.
Schumacher was surprised by the ouster, but the decision involved “nothing untoward”, the person said.
Schumacher did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment via LinkedIn.
Peltz, who founded U.S. hedge fund Trian Fund Management, joined the Unilever board in May 2022 after having also served on the board of Procter & Gamble and Mondelez.
Unlike some other activist investors, Peltz stresses his intent to work collaboratively with companies but had been pushing Unilever for years to breathe new life into the group.
In January 2023, when Schumacher, a Dutch executive, was named CEO of Unilever, Peltz was strongly supportive of the choice.
Peltz and Schumacher crossed paths at H.J. Heinz where the investor joined the board in 2006. Peltz’s firm put two other directors on the Heinz board.
Schumacher’s sudden departure after less than two years in the job hit Unilever’s shares, which fell as much as 3.4% on Tuesday. They had gained more than 9% since Schumacher took the helm on July 1, 2023.
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru. Editing by Jane Merriman)
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