Unilever Launches Search For CEO -- WSJ
November 25 2017 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Saabira Chaudhuri
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (November 25, 2017).
Unilever PLC has kicked off the search for a new chief
executive, according to a person familiar with the matter --
initiating what is expected to be a monthslong process to replace
longtime head Paul Polman.
The search at Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch packaged-goods giant
that makes household staples such as Hellmann's mayonnaise and Dove
soap, comes at time when sweeping changes in tastes are buffeting
the consumer-goods industry as a whole. It also follows close on
the heels of Kraft Heinz Co.'s surprise $143 billion bid for
Unilever.
Mr. Polman successfully fended off that approach, but afterward
acknowledged Unilever hadn't done a good enough job boosting
shareholder returns. He has initiated stock buybacks, raised margin
targets and is exploring options for the company's underperforming
margarine and spreads business.
Mr. Polman has been Unilever's CEO since 2009 and he has
publicly said he expected to run the company for between five and
10 years. He also has recently said he has no plans to leave
Unilever before the end of 2018, and it is possible he will stay on
in his current role through next year. He could leave beforehand
depending on the outcome of the search, according to another person
familiar with the matter.
Mr. Polman didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Unilever appointed a new chairman to its board, Marijin Dekkers,
in 2016. Now that he is settled in that role, the company felt it
could start the CEO search, this person said.
The start of the search was first reported by Britain's Sky
News.
Mr. Polman, a Dutchman, is credited with turning the
consumer-goods and packaged-food company into a giant in
personal-care products, with big acquisitions like Alberto Culver,
the hair and beauty care brand, and Dollar Shave Club, the online
razor delivery startup. Apart from his deal making, he was known
for a public focus on sustainability -- a stance that won him
measured praise from environmentalists but at times ruffled
critical investors, who called it a distraction.
More recently, he has had to steer Unilever through an industry
slowdown attributable to shifting consumer preferences. Many
shoppers have abandoned the big, global brands made by Unilever and
its competitors, such as home and personal-care giant Procter &
Gamble Co. and packaged-food firm Nestlé SA.
Instead, the companies have sought out smaller, niche brands,
which have been able to effectively market themselves on social
media or managed to reach consumers directly through new e-commerce
distribution channels. They have increasingly catered to a pivot
among many shoppers toward healthier, simpler or locally produced
products.
Unilever has recently had to weather headwinds in some of its
biggest markets, like India and Brazil, where macroeconomic
disruption has capped spending. The company in recent quarters has
driven growth mainly by raising prices rather than boosting
volumes.
In its search for a new CEO, Unilever has a strong internal
bench from which to draw, analysts said. Those include Alan Jope,
who leads the company's personal-care business. Another contender,
North American boss Kees Kruythoff, is slated to take over as head
of home care early next year. Chief Financial Officer Graeme
Pitkethly is another possibility, analysts said.
The job is one of the highest-profile positions in corporate
Europe. Bernstein analyst Andrew Wood said outsiders could include
a number of executives leading some of the continent's biggest
companies -- including British grocery chain Tesco PLC Chief
Executive Dave Lewis and Kasper Rorsted, former CEO of German
consumer-goods giant Henkel AG and now boss at Adidas AG.
--Robert Wall contributed to this article.
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 25, 2017 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
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