Unilever (LON: ULVR) have announced the appointment of a new Chairman, following an update to shareholders on Wednesday.
Shares of Unilever jumped 0.74% during Wednesday trading, to 4,631p. 13/11/19 13:23BST.
Danish born Nils Andersen will be named Chairman, following his strong business background in consumer goods and logistics.
Unilever, like many global firms have seen a slump in trading and business following tough market conditions and political tensions.Henceforth, the appointment comes at no surprise timing for the consumer goods company, who have seen a tough period of trading in all departments.
Andersen has been a non-executive director on the Unilever board since 2015, and joins a new CFO appointment in Alan Jope, who took the role earlier this year.
Andersen replaces Marjin Dekkers, who is set to stand down after more than three years as Unilever Chariman.
Both Jope and Andersen come into their roles at a time where the FTSE100 listed firm (INDEXFTSE: UKX) have faced a slowdown in Indian and Chinese business, two of the biggest markets.
The Chinese-US trade war and slow domestic demand in both economies have slowed down trading, which Unilever alluded to in their updates for shareholders.
Andersen has experience working with AP Moller Maerskv (OTCMKTS: AMKBY) and Carlsberg A/S (CPH: CARL-B) and has boasted significant achievements at both firms.
Andersen currently is part of Unilever’s audit committee and serves as chairman of Dutch paint company Akzo Nobel NV (AMS: AKZA) and privately held Danish retailer Salling Group A/S. He is also a non-executive director at BP (LON: BP).
It has been a huge honour to serve as chairman of Unilever and I am very proud of the work we continue to do as a truly purpose-driven company,” Dekkers said.
“My decision to step down has been a difficult one to make but I look forward to seeing Unilever go from strength to strength under Nils as chairman.”
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Marijn for his strong leadership and the contribution he has made as chairman,” Andersen said.
“I am very proud to have been asked to succeed Marijn and I look forward to working with the board and the Unilever Leadership team to support the company’s continued growth.”
