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Business

Unilever names former Heinz exec Schumacher as CEO

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  • To become CEO July 1
  • Activist shareholder says met Schumacher when at Heinz
  • First outsider CEO since Paul Polman appointed in 2008
  • Unilever shares outpace FTSE 100

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Unilever on Monday appointed Hein Schumacher to replace Alan Jope as chief executive from July in a move that was welcomed by investors including board member and activist shareholder Nelson Peltz.

Schumacher, 51, rejoined Unilever in October last year as non-executive director and is currently the chief of Dutch dairy business FrieslandCampina.

He worked at Unilever more than 20 years ago before working for retailer Royal Ahold NV and packaged food maker H.J. Heinz in the United States, Europe and Asia.

One of the biggest consumer companies in the world with more than 400 brands ranging from detergent to ice cream, Unilever said in September said that Jope planned to retire at the end of 2023.

Billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz, who heads investor Trian Partners, said he strongly supports Schumacher “as our new CEO and look(s) forward to working closely with him to drive significant sustainable stakeholder value.”

Peltz become a Unilever board member in July after it was revealed early last year that he had built a stake in the company.

“I first met Hein when I served as a director at the H.J. Heinz Company from 2006 to 2013 and was impressed by his leadership skills and business acumen,” Peltz said.

Peltz, through his Trian Fund, holds a nearly 1.5% stake in Unilever, making him the fourth largest shareholder, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

Unilever shares were up 0.56% versus a FTSE 100 (.FTSE) index down 0.1% as of 1032 GMT.

The move was also cheered by other investors and analysts, who have felt in recent years that Unilever needed an outsider’s touch.

“Positive that he’s an external appointment,” Jack Martin, a fund manager at Unilever shareholder Oberon Investments, said. “Good CV from what I read, hopefully provides the impetus the company requires.”

‘ESG SAVVY, PRAGMATIC’

Unilever’s shares have underperformed European consumer staples and discretionary indices during CEO Jope’s tenure, which began in January 2019.

Reuters Graphics

His failed bids for GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK.L) consumer healthcare business last year lost him some good faith among investors, including influential British billionaire Terry Smith, owner of Fundsmith.

Smith said at the time that Jope needed to focus less on sustainbility and more on building Unilever’s core business.

“Hein is ideal for Unilever — he’s got roots at the company but at the same time he’s external,” Allan Leighton, former CEO of British food retailer Asda and ex-chair of Britain’s Royal Mail, told Reuters.

Leighton, who worked with Schumacher on the board of C&A AG, described him as “ESG savvy but in a pragmatic and commercial way.”

Tineke Frikee, a fund manager at Unilever shareholder Waverton Investment Management, said: “It is good Schumacher has plenty of industry experience outside Unilever, particularly international.”

“I note though that his background is mainly in food, rather than beauty and personal care. This may lead the market to reduce the probability of a potential food spin-off.”

Unilever’s food business includes Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Colman’s mustard, Hellman’s mayonnaise and Knorr stock cubes.

Some investors and analysts have speculated over the past year that Unilever might spin off what they feel is a weaker food business to focus on personal goods, beauty and home care.

“Why hire a food exec, if you are planning to sell the food business?” Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said, adding that selling the food business “will always be on the cards, but I doubt that it is top priority in the short term.”

But Monteyne pointed out that some investors were hoping Unilever would name someone more well-established, globally.

“Investors we spoke to in recent weeks were hopeful for a more familiar name from a successful U.S.-based FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) turnaround.”

Unilever had been considering internal and external candidates for the role.

Sources told Reuters in October that the candidates included finance chief Graeme Pitkethly, personal care division boss Fabian Garcia and Hanneke Faber, who heads the company’s nutrition group.

Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong and Richa Naidu; editing by Matt Scuffham and Jason Neely

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Richa Naidu

Thomson Reuters

London-based reporter covering retail and consumer goods, analysing trends including coverage of supply chains, advertising strategies, corporate governance, sustainability, politics and regulation. Previously wrote about U.S. based retailers, major financial institutions and covered the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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Business

Musk to step down as Twitter CEO once he finds ‘someone foolish’ enough as successor

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Dec 20 (Reuters) – Billionaire Elon Musk said on Tuesday he will step down as chief executive of Twitter Inc
once he finds a replacement, but will still run some key divisions of the social media platform.

“I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams,” Musk wrote on Twitter.

Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter in October has been marked by chaos and controversy, with some investors questioning if he is too distracted to also properly run his electric vehicle automaker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), in which he is personally involved in production and engineering.

This is the first time Musk has mentioned stepping down as chief of the social media platform, after Twitter users voted for him to resign in a poll, which the billionaire launched on Sunday evening.

In the poll, 57.5% of around 17.5 million people voted “yes.” Musk had said on Sunday he would abide by the results. He has not provided a time frame for when he will step down and no successor has been named.

The poll results capped a whirlwind week that included changes to Twitter’s privacy policy and the suspension – and reinstatement – of journalists’ accounts that drew condemnation from news organizations, advocacy groups and officials across Europe.

Wall Street calls for Musk to step down had been growing for weeks and recently even Tesla bulls have questioned his focus on the social media platform and how it might distract him from running the EV maker.

Musk has himself said he had too much on his plate, and that he would look for a Twitter CEO. He said on Sunday, though, that there was no successor and that “no one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive.”

Reporting by Ann Maria Shibu and Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler, Anne Marie Roantree and

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Business

Philips parts ways with CEO in midst of massive recall

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  • Van Houten to leave after almost 12 years at helm
  • To be replaced on Oct. 15 by Connected Care head Jakobs
  • Shares up 2%, but down more than 50% since product recall

AMSTERDAM, Aug 16 (Reuters) – Philips (PHG.AS) Chief Executive Frans van Houten will leave the company in October, the Dutch health technology firm said on Tuesday, after a key product recall cut its market value by more than half over the past year.

Philips said Van Houten would be replaced on Oct. 15 by Roy Jakobs, head of the company’s Connected Care businesses. Van Houten’s third term as CEO had been due to end in April.

Jakobs, 48, is currently overseeing the company’s recall of millions of ventilators and machines for the treatment of sleep apnea. That process has lopped almost $30 billion off Philips’ value as investors fear large claims.

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“The time is right for the change in leadership,” Philips said in a statement.

Philips shares were up 2% in afternoon trading, but are still down almost 60% since its warning in June 2021 that foam used for sound dampening might release toxic gases that could carry cancer risks. read more

When it started the recall in September last year, Philips said it expected to complete the replacement and repair of all affected machines within a year.

But after broadening the scope of the operation to around 5.5 million devices worldwide, Philips in June said the work was only around halfway done.

ADDITIONAL TESTS

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January classified the recall as Class 1, or the most serious type, posing a threat of injury or death.

The FDA said on Tuesday it had received 48,000 new Medical Device Reports containing complaints about potential injuries related to the Philips devices, including 44 deaths, between May 1 and July 31 this year. read more

That is more than twice as many reports as it received for the entire year to April 30, 2022, which totalled over 21,000. They included 124 deaths.

CEO Frans van Houten from the Dutch health technology company Philips presents the company’s financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2018, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Eva Plevier

The FDA said it would analyse the reports and examine the possible reasons for the increased number.

The complaints do not prove causality, but are an indicator of the severity of the problem.

Philips in June said it had supplied the FDA with evidence from independent tests on the recalled devices which showed foam degradation was mainly linked to the use of aggressive, unauthorised ozone-based cleaning products. read more

It has promised to run additional tests to determine the potential toxicity of degraded foam parts, even though the tests so far had shown that the parts did not leave the machine.

Philips estimated the costs of the recall at 900 million euros ($915 million). That sum does not cover the possible costs of litigation. The company is facing more than a hundred class action suits.

“If you have three recalls in 10 years, it’s too much. His (Van Houten’s) position had become untenable,” said analyst Jos Versteeg of InsingerGilissen. He was referring to a defibrillator recall in 2017 and problems with medical scanners in 2014.

“This situation is not really under control, I think, because we’re still waiting for the definite conclusion of the (safety) studies.”

Although the blow to Philips’ reputation could have led it to pick an outsider for the top job, supervisory board chairman Feike Sijbesma said Jakobs was the right man to fix the company’s problems.

“He led the ramp up of production following the recall and knows very much about patient safety and product quality, so also from that perspective he is the right person,” he said.

During his almost 12 years at the helm, 62-year old Van Houten oversaw the disposal of Philips’ lighting and consumer electronics divisions.

Philips now focuses on medical imaging, monitoring and diagnostic equipment and competes against General Electric (GE.N) and Siemens Healthineers (SHLG.DE).

($1 = 0.9833 euros)

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Reporting by Bart Meijer; Additional reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington; Editing by Matt Scuffham, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Richard Pullin

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Business

Credit Suisse expected to announce Koerner as CEO, latest change at helm – sources

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July 26 (Reuters) – Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S) is expected to announce Ulrich Koerner as its new chief executive, the latest management churn at the Swiss bank as it struggles to recover from a series of scandals, two sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

Pressure had been mounting on current CEO Thomas Gottstein for months over major scandals and losses racked up during his two-year tenure that have hammered shares and angered investors. In recent months some investors had called for replacing Gottstein, but the bank resisted.

Another senior executive, Christian Meissner, head of the lender’s investment bank, is also planning to leave the group, the Financial Times reported.

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One of the sources said the bank was expected to announce the change in CEO on Wednesday along with its quarterly results.

Credit Suisse declined to comment. Meissner did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

When Gottstein took the helm in 2020, he promised a “clean slate” for the bank, which was recovering from an internal spying scandal that cost his predecessor Tidjane Thiam his job.

Since Thiam left in February 2020, the stock is down nearly 60% and troubles at the bank have only escalated. In 2021, the bank disclosed a $5.5 billion loss from the unraveling of U.S. investment firm Archegos and the collapse of $10 billion worth of supply chain finance funds. The events prompted management ousters, investigations, and a capital increase – followed by further losses and fresh legal cases. read more

Credit Suisse brought in Koerner in April 2021 to lead its newly separated asset management division following the collapse of the $10 billion worth of supply chain finance funds linked to insolvent financier Greensill Capital.

Koerner returned to Credit Suisse from arch-rival UBS, where he most recently served as adviser to the CEO from 2019 to 2020. He ran UBS Asset Management from 2014 to 2019. Koerner was previously a senior executive at Credit Suisse Financial Services and ran the Swiss business. read more

Koerner, who used to work for McKinsey, is considered a restructuring expert in Switzerland.

Nevertheless, the appointment would follow other major European banks where diversity at the top has been lacking. The 25 biggest banks by assets have seen 22 changes in chief executive and chair over the past two years according to a Reuters review of senior industry roles. Twenty-one of those 22 jobs went to men. read more

This spring, Credit Suisse’s chairman Axel Lehmann reiterated his support for Gottstein after Artisan Partners, the bank’s ninth-largest shareholder, had publicly called for Gottstein to be replaced. read more

“I fully back him because he is good,” Lehmann said in a CNBC interview at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. He dismissed as “rumors and speculations” talk that Gottstein could be on his way out.

The WSJ earlier reported that Gottstein may soon be replaced, days after Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported the bank is considering further cost cuts. read more

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Reporting by Oliver Hirt in Zurich, Shivam Patel in Bengaluru and Elisa Martinuzzi in London; Additional writing by Megan Davies; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Richard Pullin

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Business

Bed Bath & Beyond replaces CEO Tritton as sales sink

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June 29 (Reuters) – Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O) on Wednesday replaced Chief Executive Officer Mark Tritton as part of a management shake-up to reverse a slump in its business, the home goods retailer said.

Shares fell 13% in premarket trading as the company’s first-quarter net sales slumped 25%, rounding off a year of sales slipping below market expectations.

The rejig at the top management comes just a few months after activist investor and billionaire Ryan Cohen criticized the retailer for an “overly ambitious” strategy, overpaying top executives and failing to reverse market share losses.

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Cohen, who is also the chairman of GameStop Corp (GME.N), had disapproved of Tritton’s $27 million compensation over the last two years, saying it was far more than what top bosses earned at bigger retailers including Macy’s (M.N), Kohl’s (KSS.N), and Dollar Tree (DLTR.O).

An exterior view shows a Bed Bath & Beyond store in Novi, Michigan, U.S., January 29, 2021. REUTERS/Emily Elconin

“Mr. Tritton should recognize that chief executives who are awarded outsized compensation and seek frequent publicity also invite much higher expectations when it comes to growth and shareholder value creation,” Cohen said in March.

The company subsequently reached an agreement with Cohen by appointing three new directors, two of them to the committee exploring options for its baby products unit.

On Wednesday, it named the head of the strategy committee and independent director Sue Gove as Tritton’s replacement on an interim basis.

Tritton was made CEO in 2019 soon after the retailer settled with another set of activist investors who had criticized it for failing to adapt quickly to a shift in consumer preference to shop online.

Bed Bath & Beyond also replaced its chief merchandising officer Joe Hartsig with Mara Sirhal, general manager of its Harmon health and beauty stores, as it looks to overcome supply chain issues that have plagued it for most of the pandemic.

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Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur

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Business

Toshiba CEO suddenly resigns amid opposition to restructuring plans

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TOKYO, March 1 (Reuters) – Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said on Tuesday CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa has resigned – a sudden departure that comes after sources said revised restructuring plans sparked opposition within the company in addition to long-standing anger from shareholders.

New interim CEO Taro Shimada said, however, that the company would continue to pursue its current break-up plan as it had been approved by the board.

Initial plans announced last year by the scandal-ridden conglomerate to split into three had been much criticised by foreign hedge fund shareholders – many of which favour a sale to a private equity firm. But a revised plan last month that called for a breakup into two companies and the sale of other businesses also met with internal dissent, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

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There were fears within Toshiba that its planned sale of units such as its elevator business would leave the company only with low-margin businesses, said the sources who were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified.

Asked about internal opposition, Toshiba said it firmly believes its announced reorganization plan is the best option for the company but declined to comment further.

For some observers, the departure of Tsunakawa as well as that of Mamoru Hatazawa, a board member who had pushed to split up the company, add to doubts about whether Toshiba will be able to press ahead with the plans to break up.

“The split plan will be reviewed – we think there is a chance it is scrapped,” said Justin Tang, head of Asian research at investment advisor United First Partners in Singapore.

NEW GUARD

The appointment of Shimada, a former Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE) executive who only joined in 2018, represents a significant changing of the guard at Toshiba, helping the company’s shares end 2% higher.

Toshiba also said Goro Yanase, the head of Toshiba’s elevator business, will be appointed interim chief operating officer.

The board will monitor the performance of the new appointees and the status of business execution and “where appropriate, the board will continue its deliberations, toward appointing external candidates,” it said in a statement.

While Tsunakawa had stepped back into the CEO role on an interim basis and had said he did not expect to be in the position long-term, the timing of the announcement was a surprise.

Raymond Zage, head of Toshiba’s nomination committee, said the new appointments had been made at this time after some shareholders had voiced concerns that management had not appeared able to proceed with the firm’s restructuring plans in a timely manner.

An extraordinary general meeting that will seek initial shareholder approval for the revised breakup plan has been set for March 24. Shareholders will also vote on a major shareholder’s proposal that Toshiba explore other options and solicit buyout offers from private equity firms. read more

The original break-up plan was announced last November after a five-month strategic review following years of accounting scandals and governance issues that undermined investor confidence and saw Toshiba’s market value more than halve, to around $18 billion, from an early 2000s peak.

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Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Junko Fujita; Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga in Singapore; Editing by Edwina Gibbs

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Business

Barclays CEO Staley leaves due to findings of Epstein probe

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LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Barclays (BARC.L) said on Monday that chief executive Jes Staley is to stand down following British regulators’ investigations into his ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

C.S. Venkatakrishnan, head of global markets, will replace him as CEO with immediate effect.

Barclays said it was made aware on Friday evening of the preliminary conclusions from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority’s investigation into Staley’s characterisation to Barclays of his relationship with Epstein and the subsequent description of that relationship in Barclays’ response to the regulator.

“In view of those conclusions, and Mr Staley’s intention to contest them, the Board and Mr Staley have agreed that he will step down from his role as Group Chief Executive and as a director of Barclays,” the bank said.

“It should be noted that the investigation makes no findings that Mr Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr Epstein’s alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays’ support for Mr Staley following the arrest of Mr Epstein in the summer of 2019.”

Barclays said last year that Britain’s financial regulators were probing links between Staley and Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking offences. Staley has previously said his relationship with Epstein ended in late 2015, and that he regretted having any relationship with him.

The FCA and PRA said in a statement they could not comment further on the Epstein investigation.

“The board is disappointed at this outcome. Mr Staley has run the Barclays Group successfully since December 2015 with real commitment and skill,” the bank said in a statement.

UK regulators launched their investigations into links between Staley and Epstein after JPMorgan (JPM.N) provided them with emails the two exchanged when Staley was the head of JPMorgan’s private bank, the Financial Times reported last year.

The bank’s share price has fallen 9% since Staley became CEO.

Barclays fought off a campaign launched by activist investor Edward Bramson in 2018 to have Staley removed. Bramson sold his stake earlier this year.

Britain’s financial regulators and Barclays fined Staley a combined 1.1 million pounds ($1.50 million) in 2018 after he tried to identify a whistleblower who sent letters criticising a Barclays employee.

Reporting by Rachel Armstrong; editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan

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