Hunt for New Unilever CEO Takes on Urgency After London Backtrack
- Consumer-goods giant began looking for successor last year
- Move to drop headquarters plan could speed change: analyst
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Unilever’s about-face on a plan to consolidate its headquarters in the Netherlands may speed the departure of Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman, whose strategy for the consumer-goods giant is now questioned by investors and analysts.
The move to combine the London and Rotterdam bases was the most important thing still on Polman’s to-do list, and its reversal “could accelerate management change,” according to Societe Generale analyst Sriram Gurijala. “Now that this is off the table, there is less reason for the transition to be put off.”