Unilever‘s Chief Financial Officer Jean-Marc Huët is set to step down from his role after five years with the consumer-goods giant. He will remain with the company until the end of September.
Huët has had a successful run at Unilever, well liked by analysts and investors for his direct style. Alongside the Chief Executive Paul Polman, Huët has been credited for the production of a better consistency in results despite some problems in recent times. The Chief Finance Officer made a statement on Tuesday saying that he believed he had fully achieved what he set out to do when he joined in 2010.
Although he doesn‘t have a new position lined up, Huët joined the Heineken board last year as a Non-Executive Director. It is suspected that this could be his next option.
A spokeswoman for Unilever said: “Succession planning is always under way and ongoing for key positions as you‘d expect.” Huët‘s role will be succeeded by Graeme Pikethly, a longstanding Unilever staffer and current executive vice president of its UK and Ireland businesses.
Pikethly has held a number during his 13 year tenure at Unilever including: head of treasury, pensions and tax, and CFO of the company‘s Indonesia business.
The handover period of the CFO role means that Unilever is unlikely to undertake large mergers and acquisitions. The company‘s overall business strategy is also expected to remain static until the handover is completed.
Talya Misiri
