A leading industry analyst has said that the appointment of Alan Jope as the new chief executive of Unilever 'is unexpected', suggesting that CFO Graeme Pitkethly or even Tesco's Dave Lewis were thought to be in the frame for the position.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said, “The departure of Paul Polman as chief executive of Unilever shouldn’t come as a surprise. What is unexpected, however, is the appointment of Alan Jope as his replacement, currently president of Unilever’s beauty and personal care division.
“Tesco’s boss Dave Lewis has long been seen as a potential successor to Polman. Indeed, he used to have Jope’s job at Unilever up until 2014.
