Lindsell Train, a top-10 investor in Unilever (ULVR.L), praised the company’s recent management changes and stated that it has already spoken with the new chairman about the consumer products company’s plans.
This year, the company that produces Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Dove soap hired new executives, finance directors, and chairs quickly. These actions showed that Unilever believes that a “new perspective on all aspects of the business is necessary,” as co-founder of Lindsell Train and manager of the Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Nick Train told Reuters.
Although Lindsell Train is acknowledged in the financial industry as a significant investor and ranks ninth in shares in Unilever according to LSEG statistics, it rarely discusses its holdings in individual firms in public.
Less than two weeks have passed since Train made his remarks. Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher unveiled much-anticipated steps to streamline the company after acknowledging that it had underperformed in previous years.
According to Schumacher, Unilever will concentrate on 30 major brands, which generate 70% of its total revenue. “We are always looking for our FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) companies to assess and re-assess the assets they own in a clear-eyed manner to ensure that they are being run as well as possible,” Train said in a statement sent via email.
Schumacher took over for Alan Jope, who had a challenging year as Unilever’s CEO. Following a botched effort to acquire GSK’s consumer healthcare division, billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz became a board member.
The firm announced shortly after Schumacher’s appointment in July that Ian Meakins, Chairman of Compass (CPG.L.), will take over as chairman of the board in December, succeeding Nils Anderson.
“We maintain a productive open dialogue with the company and most recently met with the new (Unilever) chairman to hear his view on the most beneficial next steps,” Train stated. Unilever chose not to respond. The company made other management changes this month, appointing Priya Nair to lead its beauty and wellbeing division and removing Hanneke Faber, president of nutrition.
After working for Unilever for over three decades, Matt Close, head of the company’s ice cream division, will also go. Additionally, Unilever stated that the board would suspend Schumacher’s fixed compensation for the following two years.
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