By Benjamin Katz and Michael Susin

Unilever is unexpectedly replacing its chief executive, as the maker of Dove soap and Hellmann's mayonnaise seeks to accelerate plans to revive its fortunes.

The company said Tuesday that Hein Schumacher would step down by mutual agreement on March 1, less than two years after taking the helm with the endorsement of activist investor Nelson Peltz. He will be succeeded by finance chief Fernando Fernandez, a company veteran.

The sudden shake-up comes as Schumacher is in the midst of implementing a major turnaround plan at Unilever, with the aim of cutting costs and stepping up growth. The company said last year it would cut some 7,500 jobs while also spinning off its ice cream business, which includes the Ben & Jerry's brand.

As recently as this month, Schumacher told investors that those efforts were ahead of schedule, though the company warned that it expected its markets to remain soft in 2025.

"While the board is pleased with Unilever's performance in 2024, there is much further to go to deliver best-in-class results," Chairman Ian Meakins said in a statement Tuesday.

Unilever has for years faced analyst and investor pressure to reinvigorate growth across its sprawling portfolio while contending with rising input costs, changing consumer trends and broad economic uncertainty.

Pressure on Unilever increased in 2022, when Peltz's Trian Fund Management LP took a stake in the company. The investor was later added to its board.

Schumacher was viewed as the man to shake up the slow-moving conglomerate. At the time of his appointment, Unilever talked up the executive's turnaround experience, including at U.S. foods group Heinz.

The Dutch businessman was perceived to be Peltz's preferred candidate for the top job, with the investor giving the executive a glowing endorsement as someone he had been impressed by during his time on the board of the ketchup-maker.

Since taking the helm in July 2023, Schumacher's efforts to simplify Unilever had been well received by investors, with the London-based company's stock up roughly 10% over the past year.

Nevertheless, Unilever's board decided to oust Schumacher at a meeting late Monday, concluding that the charismatic Fernandez was better suited to push forward the turnaround plan at a rapid pace, according to a person familiar with the matter.

In a memo to staff, Schumacher expressed regret that he was leaving Unilever earlier than anticipated, and said that he had striven to balance swift change with the desire to move at the right pace for the company.

The abrupt move by the typically conservative conglomerate surprised analysts, with Unilever shares falling roughly 2% in early trading Tuesday.

"We are gobsmacked at the news," RBC Europe analysts wrote in a note to clients. "We met with Hein just over a week ago, and he seemed to us to be very much his normal ebullient self. We certainly didn't see this coming."

In turning to Fernandez, Unilever has tapped a company veteran who is said by analysts to be well known and liked by investors. He joined the company in the late 1980s and has held various executive roles since, including leading the company's beauty and well-being business. He became Unilever's CFO in January 2024.

Unilever's board had been impressed by Fernandez's decisive and results-oriented approach, Meakins, the chairman, said. He added that he was confident the new CEO would steer the company through its turnaround plan "with urgency."

Write to Michael Susin at michael.susin@wsj.com and Benjamin Katz at ben.katz@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 25, 2025 07:51 ET (12:51 GMT)

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