Unilever Extends Top Ranks’ Revamp With Andersen as Chairman

(Bloomberg) --

Unilever Chairman Marijn Dekkers is stepping down and will be succeeded by Danish businessman Nils Andersen, extending a revamp of the consumer-goods giant’s top ranks.

Dekkers became a target for investor ire last year when an effort to unify the Anglo-Dutch company’s headquarters in Rotterdam collapsed. Shareholders were concerned that the stock would drop out of the U.K.‘s benchmark index as a result of abandoning the separate London base.

“We think this is mildly positive, as Dekkers is inextricably linked with the failed plan,” said Eddy Hargreaves, an analyst at Investec Wealth & Investment. Andersen “is a safe pair of hands.”

Amsterdam-listed shares of the owner of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Dove soap rose 0.5% early Wednesday.

Andersen isn’t new to Unilever. He has been on the board since April 2015 and is a member of its audit committee. Besides consumer goods, he has experience in the paint, shipping and beverage industries. He was previously CEO of transport company AP Moller-Maersk A/S, after holding the top job at brewer Carlsberg A/S. He has also served as chairman of AkzoNobel NV since last year.

Dekkers will remain a director while focusing on his growing responsibilities as founder of investment firm Novalis LifeSciences, Unilever said in a statement.

His departure follows the retirement of Unilever CEO Paul Polman, who was succeeded by Alan Jope earlier this year. Polman and Dekkers had worked together on the doomed plan to streamline the company’s dual-headquarters structure.

Unilever’s growth fell just short of estimates last quarter on disappointing sales of ice cream in Europe and black tea across the developed world.

Before becoming chairman of Unilever, Dekkers honed his interest in medicine as CEO of Bayer AG.

--With assistance from Lisa Pham.

To contact the reporters on this story: Eric Pfanner in London at epfanner1@bloomberg.net;Thomas Buckley in London at tbuckley25@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, Marthe Fourcade

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