Unilever announces leadership and organisation changes

Unilever today announced changes to its leadership and organisation as it continues its transformation into a faster, leaner and more agile company. The changes build on our creation of three global Divisions last year – Beauty & Personal Care, Foods & Refreshment, and Home Care – and are designed to further strengthen the execution of our strategy in our markets.

• Nitin Paranjpe, President, Foods & Refreshment, has been appointed to the new role of Chief Operating Officer. Nitin will be responsible for all of Unilever’s go-to-market organisations, driving and co-ordinating in-year performance across our countries in line with our Divisional strategies.
• Hanneke Faber, currently President, Europe, has been appointed President, Foods & Refreshment.
• Kees Kruythoff, President, Home Care, has decided to leave Unilever after 27 years of service to pursue external opportunities.
• Peter ter Kulve, Chief Digital Officer and EVP South East Asia & Australasia (SEAA), has been appointed President, Home Care.

The roles of President Europe and EVP SEAA will not be replaced. The country organisations in these regions will report into the COO.

• Sanjiv Mehta, EVP, South Asia, has been promoted as President, South Asia and will also join the Unilever Leadership Executive, bringing further emerging markets expertise to the executive team.

Unilever CEO Alan Jope said: “Today’s increasingly fragmented consumer, channel and media environment requires us to operate with more speed and agility than ever before. With his deep knowledge and experience of our markets, Nitin is ideally placed to work with me and the Unilever Leadership Executive to drive our performance and help deliver our growth ambitions.

“I am delighted that Hanneke will assume Nitin’s leadership of our Foods & Refreshment Division after her strong performance in Europe, and that Peter and Sanjiv, both of whom have long track records of success across a diverse range of senior management roles in the company, will join the Unilever Leadership Executive.

“I would also like to thank Kees for his significant contribution to Unilever. He has been an exceptional leader whose vision, performance and energy has been an inspiration to us all. Kees’ pioneering leadership of our North America cluster and Home Care Division – turning both into purpose-led, future-fit businesses – has been instrumental to the company’s recent success. In particular, his work on transforming our portfolio, through the acquisition of brands including Dollar Shave Club, Seventh Generation and Shea Moisture, has been critical to position us to win in the high-growth segments of the future. We wish him all the best for the future.”

All changes will be effective from 1 May 2019.

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SAFE HARBOUR

Where relevant, these actions are subject to the appropriate consultations and approvals.

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, including ’forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as ’will’, ’aim’, ’expects’, ’anticipates’, ’intends’, ’looks’, ’believes’, ’vision’, or the negative of these terms and other similar expressions of future performance or results, and their negatives, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions regarding anticipated developments and other factors affecting the Unilever Group (the ’Group’). They are not historical facts, nor are they guarantees of future performance.

Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Among other risks and uncertainties, the material or principal factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are: Unilever’s global brands not meeting consumer preferences; Unilever’s ability to innovate and remain competitive; Unilever’s investment choices in its portfolio management; inability to find sustainable solutions to support long-term growth; the effect of climate change on Unilever’s business; customer relationships; the recruitment and retention of talented employees; disruptions in our supply chain; the cost of raw materials and commodities; the production of safe and high quality products; secure and reliable IT infrastructure; successful execution of acquisitions, divestitures and business transformation projects; economic and political risks and natural disasters; financial risks; failure to meet high and ethical standards; and managing regulatory, tax and legal matters. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, the Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Group’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting the Group are described in the Group’s filings with the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the Annual Report on Form 20-F 2017 and the Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2017.