THE HAGUE: Unilever chief Paul Polman is to retire after a decade at the helm of the consumer massive, the company stated on Thursday, after a failed plan to transport the company's headquarters from London to the Netherlands.
The Anglo-Dutch maker of iconic brands like Marmite and Dove cleaning soap can be headed from January via Alan Jope, the current chief of its huge good looks and private care division.
Unilever chairman Marijn Dekkers stated Polman used to be an "exceptional business leader who has transformed Unilever, making it one of the best-performing companies in its sector, and one of the most admired businesses in the world."
Polman, 62, tweeted that he had made up our minds to "step down from my role as CEO", adding: "It's been a great honour to lead this team for the past 10 years and together build a sustainable business that has made a difference to millions of lives."
"I have no doubts that I will be leaving the company in excellent hands. Under Alan's leadership Unilever is well-placed to prosper long into the future," added the Dutchman.
Jope, 54, who recently leads the company's largest department and has been with Unilever since 1985, stated it will be a "huge privilege to lead Unilever".
Polman is because of retire as CEO on December 31 however will keep at the corporate for 6 months running on the transition with Jope, the company stated.
Neither made any point out of the plan to transport the company's corporate base from London to the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, however Polman's place have been unsure because it fell through on October 5.
Unilever used to be based in 1930 after the Dutch margarine producer Margarien Unie merged with British soapmaker Lever Brothers. It is now best possible known for merchandise together with ice cream brands Magnum and Ben and Jerry's, and Knorr soups.
Since its creation, Unilever maintained a dual-headed structure and listings on the London, Amsterdam and New York inventory exchanges.
But in March Polman unveiled a plan to create a unmarried structure for the corporate within the Netherlands.
Unilever had confronted mounting opposition to the move from key shareholders, together with Aviva Investors, Royal London, Columbia Threadneedle, Legal & General Investment Management, Lindsell Train, M&G Investments and Brewin Dolphin.
Many have been indignant that the plan would have ended Unilever's listing on the London inventory exchange, meaning that many would have needed to promote stocks in Britain.
The announcement of the move out of London used to be broadly interpreted as a symbolic blow to post-Brexit Britain, however analysts also pointed out that Unilever will have been in quest of the security of the Netherland's more potent laws towards takeovers following the failed adverse bid via US rival Kraft Heinz final 12 months.
Analysts also stated Polman had treated the headquarters issue poorly.
"This move while surprising in its timing, probably shouldn't be too unexpected given the botched attempt to move its primary listing to Amsterdam, which upset a lot of UK based shareholders," stated Michael Hewson of CMC Markets UK.
"It also brings to a close a ten year tenure in charge of what has been a profitable period for the company, but it also allows senior management to renew the relationship with their major shareholders which was damaged by the listing row."
Jos Versteeg of the Theodoor Gilissen financial institution instructed AFP that Polman "made a substantial error via badly comparing the location of British shareholders on the moving plan.
"But it's an exaggeration to say that this mistake price him his job, because it simplest needed 25 p.c of shareholders to dam the move, the announcement of which coincided very unfortunately with Brexit," he added.
Versteeg also famous that Polman had prior to now talked about stepping down before the move used to be scrapped.
Polman can "take his retirement in peace after doing excellent work," he stated.
The Anglo-Dutch maker of iconic brands like Marmite and Dove cleaning soap can be headed from January via Alan Jope, the current chief of its huge good looks and private care division.
Unilever chairman Marijn Dekkers stated Polman used to be an "exceptional business leader who has transformed Unilever, making it one of the best-performing companies in its sector, and one of the most admired businesses in the world."
Polman, 62, tweeted that he had made up our minds to "step down from my role as CEO", adding: "It's been a great honour to lead this team for the past 10 years and together build a sustainable business that has made a difference to millions of lives."
Today @Unilever has announced my determination to step down from my role as CEO. It’s been a super honour to lead this t… https://t.co/y5B9q4WcVI
— Paul Polman (@PaulPolman) 1543476142000"I have no doubts that I will be leaving the company in excellent hands. Under Alan's leadership Unilever is well-placed to prosper long into the future," added the Dutchman.
Jope, 54, who recently leads the company's largest department and has been with Unilever since 1985, stated it will be a "huge privilege to lead Unilever".
Polman is because of retire as CEO on December 31 however will keep at the corporate for 6 months running on the transition with Jope, the company stated.
Neither made any point out of the plan to transport the company's corporate base from London to the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, however Polman's place have been unsure because it fell through on October 5.
Unilever used to be based in 1930 after the Dutch margarine producer Margarien Unie merged with British soapmaker Lever Brothers. It is now best possible known for merchandise together with ice cream brands Magnum and Ben and Jerry's, and Knorr soups.
Since its creation, Unilever maintained a dual-headed structure and listings on the London, Amsterdam and New York inventory exchanges.
But in March Polman unveiled a plan to create a unmarried structure for the corporate within the Netherlands.
Unilever had confronted mounting opposition to the move from key shareholders, together with Aviva Investors, Royal London, Columbia Threadneedle, Legal & General Investment Management, Lindsell Train, M&G Investments and Brewin Dolphin.
Many have been indignant that the plan would have ended Unilever's listing on the London inventory exchange, meaning that many would have needed to promote stocks in Britain.
The announcement of the move out of London used to be broadly interpreted as a symbolic blow to post-Brexit Britain, however analysts also pointed out that Unilever will have been in quest of the security of the Netherland's more potent laws towards takeovers following the failed adverse bid via US rival Kraft Heinz final 12 months.
Analysts also stated Polman had treated the headquarters issue poorly.
"This move while surprising in its timing, probably shouldn't be too unexpected given the botched attempt to move its primary listing to Amsterdam, which upset a lot of UK based shareholders," stated Michael Hewson of CMC Markets UK.
"It also brings to a close a ten year tenure in charge of what has been a profitable period for the company, but it also allows senior management to renew the relationship with their major shareholders which was damaged by the listing row."
Jos Versteeg of the Theodoor Gilissen financial institution instructed AFP that Polman "made a substantial error via badly comparing the location of British shareholders on the moving plan.
"But it's an exaggeration to say that this mistake price him his job, because it simplest needed 25 p.c of shareholders to dam the move, the announcement of which coincided very unfortunately with Brexit," he added.
Versteeg also famous that Polman had prior to now talked about stepping down before the move used to be scrapped.
Polman can "take his retirement in peace after doing excellent work," he stated.
Unilever boss steps down after HQ move fiasco
![Unilever boss steps down after HQ move fiasco]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
November 30, 2018
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