Unilever's New Chairman: Ian Meakins To Succeed Nils Andersen

Unilever Plc UL named Ian Meakins to succeed outgoing Chairman Nils Andersen, continuing to overhaul its leadership after a series of missteps in recent years frustrated shareholders.

Ian will join the Board as Non-Executive Director and Chair Designate on 1 September 2023 and succeed Nils Andersen as Chair on 1 December 2023. 

Nils will step down from the board, after nine years of service, at Unilever's Annual General Meeting in May 2024.

Meakins is currently chairman of Compass Group PLC and Rexel SA, and he formerly served as chief executive officer of Wolseley Plc, now known as Ferguson Plc.

He'll join an essentially new top team. Hein Schumacher became CEO this month, replacing Alan Jope. Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly plans to retire next year.

Bloomberg noted that the new team must work hard to repair fraught relations with shareholders like Terry Smith, who accused the company of overlooking long-term shareholders while swiftly inviting activist Nelson Peltz onto the board.

The group 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, the report added.

Unilever faced a crisis and subsequent shareholder upheaval over the unification of its structure, which ultimately led to the establishment of London as the group's headquarters. The company's failed attempt to acquire GSK's consumer health division, later divested as Haleon, put additional strain on investor tolerance. Shortly after this incident, Peltz managed to secure a board seat. 

In a further setback for Unilever's management, the shareholders rejected the proposed compensation plan for the directors in a non-binding vote held in May.

Price Action: UL shares are up 1.64% at $54.33 on the last check Friday.