Unilever Names Compass Group’s Chairman as New Chief to Replace 9-Year Veteran Nils Andersen

Unilever PLC announced it has appointed a new chairman amid a leadership change in the company. The British consumer packaged goods company said it has appointed Ian Meakins to be its next chairman.

As per Bloomberg, Meakins is the chairman of Compass Group Plc, a catering firm. He is also holding the same role in the French electrical supply group, Rexel SA.

The appointed new chair of Unilever is set to replace Nils Andersen, who will be stepping down next year. He will be leaving his role at Unilever’s board in 2024, and the company made the announcement of the new appointment on Friday, July 28.

Andersen led Unilever’s board for nine years, and he will officially make his exit at the upcoming general meeting that will be held in May 2024. Meakins will then become a non-executive director and chair designate.

The company shared that the new chairman was selected after a thorough search process. He will join a new team of executives after Unilever reorganized its management. Unilever also onboarded its new chief executive officer, Hein Schumacher, recently, and Meakins will join the group on Sept. 1.

“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Nils for his excellent leadership of our company as Chair over the last four years,” Unilever’s CEO, Hein Schumacher, said in a press release. “Nils chaired the company through a period of significant volatility and some of the most challenging operational conditions in decades."

The CEO added, "He was instrumental in sharpening Unilever’s focus on operational performance, creating a simpler and more agile company through the unification of Unilever NV and PLC into one legal structure, and implementing our new category focused organisation.”

Photo by: Unilever España/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)