Unilever Plc, a global consumer goods brand headquartered in London, England, revealed that its chief financial officer, Graeme Pitkethly, is leaving the company. The 56-year-old executive is said to stepping down after making the decision to retire.
Unilever said that the outgoing CFO is set to officially vacate his role in May 2024. The announcement for leadership change came on Tuesday, May 30.
Pitkethly took over the role of finance chief from Jean-Marc Huët in 2015, but he has been working for the company since 2002. He has been with Unilever for more than two decades now, and throughout his tenure, he held various executive roles.
As per Reuters, he has also served as executive vice president of the company’s UK and Ireland business units. At some point, he also became the treasury chief as well as head of M&A at Unilever.
It was noted that the announcement of his exit comes at a time when the company is struggling to deal with the inflation that caused intense pressures due to the soaring prices of materials and energy. At any rate, Pitkethly’s decision to retire was welcomed by investors and board members, including activist shareholder Nelson Peltz.
“I would like to thank Graeme for his tremendous contribution to Unilever over the last 21 years,” Alan Jope, Unilever’s chief executive officer, said in a press release. “As CFO, he has brought great leadership to our company and been instrumental in sharpening our strategy and driving a step-up in our operational performance.”
Nils Andersen, the company chairman, also added, “On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Graeme for his service to Unilever, and wish him well for the future. He has been a highly valued member of the Board throughout the last eight years, and a strong and dynamic leader of our business. I look forward to continuing to work with him in the months ahead.”
Meanwhile, Unilever said it will launch a formal internal and external search for a CFO successor soon.
Photo by: Seamusiv/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)


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