Consumer goods giant Unilever has appointed Ian Meakins as its chair designate, replacing current chairman Nils Andersen.
Meakins, chairman of the Compass Group, will join the board and take the position of chair designate on September 1, and join as the company's chairman on December 1, according to a statement.
"Ian has a strong track record of success in executive and non-executive roles across a range of industries," Andersen said.
Ian Meakins
Meakins, 66, had previously held positions at Diageo, Bain & Company, and Procter & Gamble.
“It is a great honour to have been asked to succeed nils as Chair of Unilever," he commented. "I look forward to working with the board and with Hein and his leadership team to help realise Unilever’s full potential and create value for all its stakeholders.”
Andersen will step down from the board, after nine years’ service, at Unilever’s Annual General Meeting in May 2024, the company said.
Sales Performance
Unilever reported strong quarterly sales growth earlier this week, surpassing expectations, thanks to the implementation of price increases to offset rising costs.
The company, known for products like Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, achieved a 7.9% rise in underlying sales during the second quarter.
Looking ahead, Unilever remains optimistic about its performance for the full year, expecting underlying sales growth to surpass 5%. This projection exceeds the company's typical multi-year range. While prices will continue to increase moderately throughout the year, the focus on underlying price growth will persist, it noted.
In the first half of the year, Unilever reported a 9.1% increase in underlying sales. This growth was primarily driven by a 9.4% increase in prices, while volumes experienced a slight decline of 0.2%.
Read More: Unilever Half-Year Results – What The Analysts Said
Additional reporting by ESM
