Hein Schumacher has been named as the new Chief Executive Officer of Unilever. Hein will succeed Alan Jope, who announced his intention to retire from Unilever in September 2022. Hein is currently the CEO of the global dairy and nutrition company Royal FrieslandCampina and joined Unilever as a Non-Executive Director in October of last year. After a one-month transition period, he will take over as CEO of Unilever on July 1, 2023.
Hein Schumacher’s professional background and experience
Hein is a business leader with a proven track record of success in multiple consumer goods companies. As CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina, a €11 billion turnover company with operations in over 40 countries, he oversaw significant portfolio and organizational change as part of the company’s transformation into a more focused, growth-driven, and sustainable enterprise.
Prior to joining Royal FrieslandCampina as CFO in 2014, Hein worked for H.J. Heinz for over a decade across the US, Europe, and Asia, during a period of significant change at the company. He was based in China for his final four years at Heinz, where he led a turnaround of the Asia Pacific zone. Hein began his finance career at Unilever before joining Royal. Hein began his career in finance at Unilever, before joining Royal Ahold NV.
