Hein Schumacher is leaving his position as CEO of Unilever with immediate effect, after having joined from FrieslandCampina more than a year and a half ago. The departure that was announced this morning (25 February) comes as a bolt from the blue. Although Schumacher did not shy away from difficult decisions, his performance has not been an unqualified success. An analysis of the course of events surrounding his more or less forced departure.
It was almost the perfect transfer, from the top of FrieslandCampina to the even bigger Unilever. In football terms, you could compare it to something like going from the Europa League to the Champions League. Schumacher already knew the food industry like the back of his hand from his time at FrieslandCampina (and before that Heinz) and is at the ideal age to take steps. Moreover, he had already been a commissioner at Unilever and had also worked there, right after his studies.
On paper, he was the dream candidate to guide the food company through challenging times. The fact that the increasingly British company once again had a Dutch CEO was often well received in our country.
Promotion through the side door
At FrieslandCampina, Schumacher was not uncontroversial. For the non-agricultural outside world perhaps, but his relationship with the cooperative's farming supporters was complicated. He did not excel, especially in communication, because he did not speak the farmer's language well. During his time, hordes of dairy farmers left for other processors, who were actually pulling hard on the suppliers. Moreover, he left FrieslandCampina in the middle of a reorganization. It is understandable that he could not refuse Unilever's offer. If only for the salary, which was twice as high.
All in all, Schumacher's departure from FrieslandCampina could be described as a 'promotion through the side door'. He did not leave a void like former CEO Cees 't Hart did in 2015, when he went to Carlsberg. Current CEO Jan Derck van Karnebeek, has achieved a top result in his first full year and has also been able to stop the high outflow of members, of course helped by the termination of the severance scheme via the Dutch Milk Foundation (DMF).
Focus on return
At Unilever, Schumacher has taken drastic steps in a short period of time. The strategy was also revised. In short, he wanted to simplify the sluggish British food giant by focusing on thirty top brands. In total, the company wants to sell €1,2 billion worth of small brands. The aim of the strategy is to increase returns for shareholders. Not least to please the activist shareholder Nelson Peltz, who is particularly critical of the performance and policy.
Low-yielding brands such as Conimex and Unox were recently divested, with the company increasingly moving away from the food sector and increasingly embracing cosmetics. A plan was also made to sell De Vegetarische Slager, due to disappointing growth potential in the plant-based meat market.
Ice division on its own two feet
Schumacher's most striking decision was to put Unilever's ice cream division up for sale early last year. From his time at FrieslandCampina, these activities should perhaps be the ones he is most familiar with, but that did not stop him from taking this drastic step. At the end of last year, it was announced that the sales plan did not get off the ground due to a lack of interest. Earlier this month, it was announced that the division would therefore continue as an independent entity and get its own stock exchange listing in Amsterdam.
Just when the figures showed an upward trend, Schumacher has to leave the field. Unilever achieved a turnover growth of 2024% in 4. Net profit also increased slightly. However, the company warned of a slow start to 2025, after which the share price shot down. Almost two weeks after publication of the annual figures, the group unexpectedly announced that the ways with the CEO will part at the end of this week, and that he will remain on the payroll until the end of May. He will be succeeded by the Argentinian Fernando Fernandez, who is now CFO.
There is still much to be done
There is no clear reason for the unexpected departure, but between the lines of the press release it can be deduced that they no longer see it in Schumacher. The Supervisory Board does indicate that it is satisfied with the results in 2024, but also says that much still needs to be done to realize the ambitions. Schumacher has not turned out to be the ideal candidate for that that they thought they had brought in from FrieslandCampina a year and a half ago. Schumacher, in turn, says that he is proud of what he has achieved in a short time. Since his appointment in June 2023, Unilever's stock market value has increased on balance.