Unilever Plc named Ian Meakins to succeed Chairman Nils Andersen, continuing an overhaul of its leadership after a series of missteps in recent years frustrated shareholders.
Meakins, 66, will succeed Andersen, 65, as chairman on Dec. 1, the food and shampoo maker said Friday. Meakins is currently chairman of catering company Compass Group Plc and French electrical-supply maker Rexel SA.
The shares gained 0.4% early Friday in London, where Unilever is based.
Meakins will join a largely new top team team. Hein Schumacher, former boss of dairy cooperative Royal FrieslandCampina, became CEO this month, replacing Alan Jope. Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly plans to retire next year.
Unilever’s leadership overhaul follows several years of underperformance. The Knorr stock-cube maker drew criticism from some shareholders that it’s too focused on the social “purpose” of products like Domestos toilet cleaner and not enough on sales growth and margins. Over the past five years, Unilever investors have lost 3% while Nestle SA returned 33%.
Unilever’s bungled takeover approach last year for the consumer-health unit of GSK Plc — then spun out as Haleon Plc — stretched investor patience further. Activist Nelson Peltz was able to take up a seat on the board soon afterward. In another rebuke for management, in May shareholders rejected the company’s pay package for directors in a non-binding vote.
Read More: Unilever (ULVR) Shareholders Reject Director Pay After Messy Year - Bloomberg
Like other consumer-goods groups, the maker of Dove soap has contended with the worst inflation in decades. Raising prices has resulted in falling volumes and Unilever’s new leaders will be tasked with clawing back market share from cheaper rivals and white-label goods.
Meakins is experienced in dealing with a UK shareholder base but his consumer-product experience came earlier in his career, with positions at Diageo Plc and Procter & Gamble Co.. He formerly served as chief executive officer of Wolseley Plc, the plumbing and heating products distributor now known as Ferguson Plc. That’s after he led Travelex Holdings Ltd. and Alliance Unichem Plc as CEO earlier in his career.
RBC analyst James Edwardes Jones was surprised at the announcement but said in a note: “A clean sweep of management is ultimately what Unilever needs, given our concerns about its culture and the board’s endorsement of its approach to Haleon last year.”
(Updates with analyst comment, total return comparison)
