Unilever PLC announced the appointment of Hein Schumacher as its new Chief Executive Officer, following an extensive, global search process. Hein will replace Alan Jope, who announced in September 2022 his intention to retire from Unilever. Hein is currently CEO of the global dairy and nutrition business Royal FrieslandCampina and became a Non-Executive Director of Unilever in October last year.

He will begin as Unilever CEO on 1 July 2023, after a one-month handover period. Hein is a business leader with an excellent track record across multiple leading companies in the consumer goods industry. As CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina, an €11 billion turnover business operating in over 40 countries, he has delivered significant portfolio and organisation change as part of transforming it into a more focused, growth-driven and sustainable business.

Prior to joining Royal FrieslandCampina as CFO in 2014, Hein worked for H.J. Heinz for over a decade - during a time of significant change at the company - across the US, Europe and Asia. In his last four years at Heinz, he was based in China, where he led a turnaround of the Asia Pacific zone. Hein began his career in finance at Unilever, before joining Royal Ahold NV.

Alan Jope will step down from the Unilever Board on 1 July 2023.