Consumer goods giant Unilever have promoted Alan Jope, current president of its Russia, Africa, the Middle East and Turkey business, to the role of president of its personal care division.
Jope will replace Dave Lewis who will leave the role to join Tesco as CEO in October.
Jope, a Unilever lifer like Lewis, has been with the firm since 2001 and will head up a division that runs household brands such as Dove, Vaseline and Tresemme.
He joined Unilever in 1985 and worked in sales and marketing roles in London and the US before being leading a team in Thailand for Unilever between 1999 and 2000 where he worked as vice-president of its personal care business. Before taking the role he was chairman of Unilever in Greater China.
A Unilever spokeswoman said: “We very much respect Dave‘s decision to join Tesco as chief executive officer. While we are very sorry to see him go, we appreciate that this is a significant opportunity for him to take the helm of one of the world‘s leading retailers.”
The spokeswoman added: “Dave‘s appointment to such a leading industry position, and the fact we are able to replace him from within with someone of the calibre of Alan Jope, is a mark of the strength and depth of our senior leadership talent.”
