Unilever CEO Fernando Fernández has led a comprehensive corporate overhaul for a year. The food division was recently spun off for $66 billion into a joint venture with a US spice company. The focus shifts to beauty, wellness, and personal care.
Fernando Fernández, the 60-year-old Argentine dubbed a "human tornado" by colleagues, has been fundamentally restructuring the British-Dutch giant Unilever for a year. The nearly 100-year-old company, with brands like Knorr and Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, is ubiquitous in Europe and North America.
"We are shifting our portfolio towards beauty, wellness, and personal care," Fernández explained the spin-off of the food division a few weeks ago. Valued at $66 billion, it forms a joint venture with a US spice company. German firms like Beiersdorf and Henkel, plus Estée Lauder, may face heightened competition.
Drivers include urbanization, rising prosperity, more women in the workforce, low birth rates, and the trend toward healthy lifestyles. Unilever, with about 100,000 employees across over 190 countries, aims for faster growth.
Founded in 1930 by merging Lever Brothers with Dutch margarine producers, Unilever pioneered the consumer goods conglomerate. The pivot to a beauty specialist breaks with tradition.
