By Josephine Mason
LONDON (Reuters) – Unilever’s outgoing CEO Hein Schumacher said in an email after the surprise news of his departure on Tuesday that the board wanted to accelerate the pace of change and realise swift value creation under new leadership.
In an email sent on Tuesday to associates and shared with Reuters, he said the board is “eager to step up the pace of our strategy execution and realise swift value creation underscored by a change in leadership”.
He said he had “thoroughly enjoyed working alongside” Fernando Fernandez, the finance chief who has been with the company for almost 40 years and will replace him as CEO next month.
Schumacher regrets leaving the consumer group earlier than expected but is “proud of what the whole team has achieved over the last two years”.
“I stand by my approach and record,” he said.
Unilever did not immediately confirm the contents of the email.
During his tenure, Schumacher overhauled the group’s strategy to address years of underperformance and last year laid out cost cuts, including plans spin off its ice cream division. He also sought to offload non-core operations such as plant-based meat.
In the email, he defended his record, noting the company’s improved performance since he took the reins less than two years ago.
A “comprehensive transformation” is under way, including a strategy reset, a sizeable portfolio change, a wide-ranging productivity programme and a refocused sustainability agenda, he said.
(Reporting by Josephine Mason; Additional reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman)
