Unilever CEO Steps Down After Less Than 2 YearsUnilever CEO Steps Down After Less Than 2 Years

Unilever has announced that Hein Schumacher is stepping down as chief executive officer and as a Board director on March 1, 2025, and will leave the company on May 31, 2025. He will be replaced by current CFO Fernando Fernandez.

Schumacher has been with the company as CEO only since July 2023. Schumacher's resignation was not his idea. According to news sources, investors were surprised by the news. The Board was unanimous in its decision to oust Schumacher and wasn't satisfied with the pace of restructuring at the company, according to an article by Bloomberg.

Unilever's current chief financial officer and executive director, Fernando Fernandez, will be the next chief executive officer. Prior to becoming CFO in January 2024, Fernandez had a successful tenure as president of Beauty & Wellbeing, one of Unilever’s fastest growing businesses. In previous roles as president Latin America, CEO Brazil and CEO Philippines, he led some of the company’s best performing markets, delivering strong financial results while developing exceptional talent.

“While the Board is pleased with Unilever’s performance in 2024, there is much further to go to deliver best-in-class results. Having worked with Fernando closely over the last 14 months, the Board is very confident in his ability to lead a high performing management team, realize the benefits of the GAP with urgency, and deliver the shareholder value that the company’s potential demands.”

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On March 1, 2025, Srinivas Phatak, currently Unilever’s deputy chief financial officer and group controller, will become acting CFO. Srinivas has served in global and local senior finance, strategy, and supply chain roles including a successful term as CFO of Hindustan Unilever Ltd.