Unilever Announces Freeze on CEO Salary Amid Shareholder Rejection: Insights on Hein Schumacher’s Compensation Plan

2023-10-30 19:21:27

The fixed part of Hein Schumacher’s salary has been set at 1.85 million euros per year, an increase of more than 18% compared to his predecessor Alan Jope.

The food and hygiene products giant Unilever announced on Monday that it would freeze the fixed portion of the salary of its new general director Hein Schumacher for two years, following the rejection last May by its shareholders of the remuneration plan for the group’s executives. .

Unilever, which is going through a period of turbulence, assures in a press release that it has “undertaken a vast exercise” of dialogue with its shareholders to understand the reasons for this rejection, which took place before Hein Schumacher took office on July 1.

“While the majority of shareholders agreed that the new director’s fixed remuneration level appropriately reflected the scale and complexity of the role, they would have preferred market alignment to be achieved gradually, rather than all at once. time to the nomination”, explains Unilever.

The fixed part of Hein Schumacher’s salary has been set at 1.85 million euros per year, an increase of more than 18% compared to his predecessor Alan Jope.

“The Board of Directors has decided to freeze the fixed remuneration of the Managing Director for the next two years,” continues the group.

The compensation plan rejected by 60%

In May, before the arrival of Hein Schumacher, Unilever shareholders had rejected by almost 60% the remuneration plan for the group’s executives, following a consultative vote during its annual general meeting.

It was a wake-up call for management, as the strategy of previous CEO Alan Jope, at the helm of Unilever since 2019, had been questioned for months by influential investors.

Alan Jope notably found himself under fire following the failure of his planned acquisition at great expense of the consumer health products division of the GSK laboratory, which had sparked protests from leading shareholders. , forcing him to backtrack.

Unilever, known for Dove soaps, Ax deodorants, Knorr soups and Magnum ice creams, unveiled a new “recovery plan” on Thursday in the wake of falling turnover in the third quarter, focused on “a faster growth, greater productivity and simplicity, and a stronger performance culture.”

“Our performance in recent years did not live up to our potential,” lamented Hein Schumacher.

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