Ian Meakins to take over as chair at Unilever

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Unilever has appointed British businessman Ian Meakins as its chair, marking the start of a new chapter for the maker of Dove soap and Hellman’s mayonnaise, which also changed its chief executive recently. 

Meakins, current chair of caterer Compass Group and electrical equipment distributor Rexel and former chief of building products group Wolseley and foreign exchange provider Travelex Holdings, will succeed Nils Andersen at FTSE 100-listed Unilever in September.

Andersen is stepping down after nine years on the board, the last four as chair, following a search for his replacement led by the Spencer Stuart group.

The appointment comes at a crucial time for the consumer products group. Its chief executive Alan Jope retired and was replaced this month by Hein Schumacher, former boss of Dutch dairy co-operative Royal FrieslandCampina.

The company has faced growing shareholder discontent over a lacklustre stock price and an unsuccessful attempt to buy the consumer health division of GSK for £50bn in late 2021. Investors said that effort undermined the credibility of its chief executive, chair and board. 

Unilever is also facing pressure from US activist investor Nelson Peltz, founder of Trian Partners, who joined its board a year ago and is a top-10 shareholder. Peltz has previously led activist campaigns at consumer goods rivals including Procter & Gamble and Heinz, where he worked with Schumacher.

Peltz wants Unilever to boost its sales, margins and share price, according to a person familiar with his thinking.

Since Unilever became a target for Peltz, senior leadership changes have been announced, including Jope’s exit, chief financial officer Graeme Pitkethly’s retirement, and the departure of chief digital officer Conny Braams this summer. 

With new management in place and an activist investor on its shareholder register, analysts expect Unilever to re-evaluate its portfolio of brands and weigh up potential acquisitions and disposals. Last month it announced the acquisition of frozen yoghurt brand Yasso Holdings in North America, adding to its range of ice-cream brands, which includes Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Talenti.

In Schumacher’s first set of results as chief executive this week, Unilever reported better than expected 9.1 per cent sales growth in the first half of the year. However sales volumes remained flat and the company continued to lose considerable market share. The outgoing CFO Pitkethly said “we have passed peak inflation”.