Unilever share price climbs as group announces CFO change

Unilever’s (LON:ULVR) share price has been on the up so far today, after the consumer goods company announced that chief financial officer Jean-Marc Huët has tendered his resignation and is to be replaced by Greame Pitkethly. The Anglo-Dutch maker of Dove soap, Lipton tea and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, said in a statement this morning that Huët would leave the company on October 1 after more than five years in the role. Pitkethly, who is currently executive vice president of Unilever’s UK and Ireland business, has also worked as head of M&A, head of treasury and CFO of its Indonesian business.

No specific reasons were given by the company for Huët’s decision to resign but the outgoing CFO stated that he had “achieved” his objective since joining the company in 2010, which was to set Unilever on a solid new reporting and financial platform. “I have had an excellent and very rewarding period of time at Unilever and fully achieved what I set out to do when I joined the organisation in 2010,” Huët stated.
In its coverage of the news, the Financial Time has noted that Huët’s impending departure might not be the only change in senior personnel that the firm will see in the near future, as some analysts expect the company’s chairman, Michael Treschow, to announce next year that he will resign his position after seven years in the job.
Investors have reacted positively to today’s CFO change announcement, sending Unilever’s share price 1.40 percent higher to 2,895.00p as of 09:14 BST. The stock has gained almost 10 percent in the year to date.
As of 10:46 BST, Tuesday, 19 May, Unilever plc share price is 2,897.50p.