Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) conglomerate Unilever has announced Fernando Fernandez as its new chief executive officer, effective 1 March 2025.
Outgoing CEO Hein Schumacher will step down after leading the company for two years. Schumacher will also vacate his position as board director on 1 March 2025 and leave the company on 31 May 2025 by “mutual agreement”, the company said in a statement on Tuesday morning.
“It has been a privilege to lead Unilever. We have made real progress, and I am proud of what we have achieved in a short period of time. With a clear strategy, a portfolio reset in motion and a strong leadership team in place, I look forward to seeing Unilever move from strength to strength in the future,” said Schumacher in a statement.
Unilever chairman Ian Meakins said, “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Hein for resetting Unilever’s strategy, for the focus and discipline he has brought to the company and for the solid financial progress delivered during 2024. The Growth Action Plan (GAP) has put Unilever on a path to higher performance, and the board is committed to accelerating its execution. We are grateful for Hein’s leadership, and we wish him the very best for the future.” The Growth Action Plan was put into place in February last year in efforts to scale multi-year product innovation, increase investment and build back gross margins across the portfolio.
Fernandez is currently Unilever’s CFO and executive director. Before becoming CFO, Fernandez led the group’s beauty and wellbeing division — a portfolio of brands including Dermalogica, Minimalist, Paula’s Choice, K18, Nutrafol and buzzy TikTok wellness brand Liquid IV — one of Unilever’s fastest growing divisions. He also held positions within the group as president of Latin America and CEO of the Philippines umbrella in 2019 and 2008, respectively, both best-performing markets for the conglomerate.
Propelling growth is the clear priority on his to-do list as the group looks to come back from disappointing earning results and keep pace with other strategic players, including Estée Lauder Companies, L’Oreal, Puig and Coty. In Unilever’s FY24 earnings report, the company posted a 4 per cent rise to €14.2 billion in Q4 and a 4.2 per cent increase to €60.8 billion in 2024 (its beauty and wellbeing division makes up 21 per cent of the company’s overall sales performance — the group doesn’t break out performance in its earning report) but missed its 4.1 per cent and 4.3 per cent forecast respectively, posing slightly weaker sales growth than expected and posing a muted start to 2025.
“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, realise the benefits of the GAP with urgency, and deliver the shareholder value that the company’s potential demands,” said Meakins. The group’s executive move isn’t in isolation. New CEOs, including ELC’s de la Faverie, Ulta Beauty’s Kecia Steelman and Shiseido’s Kentaro Fujiwara, also took to the hot seat this year as beauty conglomerates face a similar challenge, fuelling growth amidst a beauty slowdown.
“Being appointed as CEO of Unilever is an honour. Our focus will be on building a future-fit portfolio with an attractive growth footprint and delivering unmatched functional and perceivable superiority across our top 30 power brands. I have full confidence in our team’s ability to propel Unilever to a global industry-leading position and create substantial value for our shareholders. I would like to thank Hein for his values-led leadership and the performance focus he has brought to the business. I wish him every success for the future,” Fernandez said.
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