Unilever CEO to Retire Next Year After Rocky Tenure

The CEO change comes as Unilever seeks to reinvigorate growth across its sprawling portfolio while grappling with rising input costs, changing consumer trends and broad economic uncertainty—issues that punctuated Mr. Jope’s tenure and will likely face his successor.

Mr. Jope had come under pressure from some investors earlier this year after a botched multibillion-dollar bid for the consumer-healthcare business now known as

Haleon

HLN -2.31%

PLC. He has also this year contended with the emergence of activist investor Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management LP as one of Unilever’s largest shareholders.

In leaving at the end of 2023, Mr. Jope will have completed five years as CEO and more than 35 at Unilever, where he started as a graduate marketing trainee and rose through the ranks to head the company’s beauty and personal-care division before taking the top job.

Mr. Jope started as CEO on Jan. 1, 2019 and soon came under pressure. Less than a year into his tenure, he warned that Unilever would miss its annual sales targets amid slow growth and fierce competition in the U.S., an announcement that sent its shares tumbling.

The Scottish marketer then faced the task of leading Unilever through the Covid-19 pandemic. Unilever’s broad exposure to emerging markets—for years seen as a competitive advantage—brought additional challenges as the spread of the virus disrupted key markets like India, propelling the company to change how it makes, prices and distributes products there.

To accelerate growth, Mr. Jope has sought to rotate Unilever’s portfolio into faster-growing areas like health, beauty and hygiene. However, he abandoned a potential blockbuster deal for Haleon—owner of Aquafresh toothpaste and Advil painkillers—earlier this year after criticism from analysts and investors about the price and strategic fit of the proposed transaction. Some shareholders said Unilever should focus on boosting its existing brands and divesting slower-growing ones instead.

In the wake of the botched bid, Mr. Jope announced a sweeping reorganization of Unilever that he said would allow the company to be more responsive to trends and create more accountability.

That move also came as Mr. Peltz’s Trian fund emerged as one of Unilever’s largest shareholders. Unilever has since appointed Mr. Peltz to its board, at which time the activist investor said he thought the company had “significant potential” and that he wanted to work collaboratively.

Throughout his tenure as CEO, Mr. Jope has extolled the virtues of giving Unilever’s brands a social or environmental purpose, which he defines as having a point of view on issues important to the planet or society. The company says brands with a purpose grow sales faster than those without, though some shareholders have been critical of the approach.

Martin Deboo, an analyst at Jefferies, described Monday’s announcement as a surprise but one he expected the market to view positively given Mr. Jope’s reputation had taken a “heavy knock” in the wake of the failed Haleon bid. Shares in Unilever rose 2% in early trading.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said their immediate concern was that, with 15 months to Mr. Jope’s retirement, Unilever was left with a CEO “who might be seen to have lost credibility with employees and other stakeholders” at a time when the company is implementing a major reorganization and dealing with a challenging macroeconomic environment. On a positive note, they added, Unilever would have time for a proper transition if it hires a successor from outside the company.

—Michael Susin contributed to this article.

Write to Peter Stiff at [email protected]

The CEO change comes as Unilever seeks to reinvigorate growth across its sprawling portfolio while grappling with rising input costs, changing consumer trends and broad economic uncertainty—issues that punctuated Mr. Jope’s tenure and will likely face his successor.

Mr. Jope had come under pressure from some investors earlier this year after a botched multibillion-dollar bid for the consumer-healthcare business now known as

Haleon

HLN -2.31%

PLC. He has also this year contended with the emergence of activist investor Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management LP as one of Unilever’s largest shareholders.

In leaving at the end of 2023, Mr. Jope will have completed five years as CEO and more than 35 at Unilever, where he started as a graduate marketing trainee and rose through the ranks to head the company’s beauty and personal-care division before taking the top job.

Mr. Jope started as CEO on Jan. 1, 2019 and soon came under pressure. Less than a year into his tenure, he warned that Unilever would miss its annual sales targets amid slow growth and fierce competition in the U.S., an announcement that sent its shares tumbling.

The Scottish marketer then faced the task of leading Unilever through the Covid-19 pandemic. Unilever’s broad exposure to emerging markets—for years seen as a competitive advantage—brought additional challenges as the spread of the virus disrupted key markets like India, propelling the company to change how it makes, prices and distributes products there.

To accelerate growth, Mr. Jope has sought to rotate Unilever’s portfolio into faster-growing areas like health, beauty and hygiene. However, he abandoned a potential blockbuster deal for Haleon—owner of Aquafresh toothpaste and Advil painkillers—earlier this year after criticism from analysts and investors about the price and strategic fit of the proposed transaction. Some shareholders said Unilever should focus on boosting its existing brands and divesting slower-growing ones instead.

In the wake of the botched bid, Mr. Jope announced a sweeping reorganization of Unilever that he said would allow the company to be more responsive to trends and create more accountability.

That move also came as Mr. Peltz’s Trian fund emerged as one of Unilever’s largest shareholders. Unilever has since appointed Mr. Peltz to its board, at which time the activist investor said he thought the company had “significant potential” and that he wanted to work collaboratively.

Throughout his tenure as CEO, Mr. Jope has extolled the virtues of giving Unilever’s brands a social or environmental purpose, which he defines as having a point of view on issues important to the planet or society. The company says brands with a purpose grow sales faster than those without, though some shareholders have been critical of the approach.

Martin Deboo, an analyst at Jefferies, described Monday’s announcement as a surprise but one he expected the market to view positively given Mr. Jope’s reputation had taken a “heavy knock” in the wake of the failed Haleon bid. Shares in Unilever rose 2% in early trading.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said their immediate concern was that, with 15 months to Mr. Jope’s retirement, Unilever was left with a CEO “who might be seen to have lost credibility with employees and other stakeholders” at a time when the company is implementing a major reorganization and dealing with a challenging macroeconomic environment. On a positive note, they added, Unilever would have time for a proper transition if it hires a successor from outside the company.

—Michael Susin contributed to this article.

Write to Peter Stiff at [email protected]