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Unilever

Oh boy!

A CEO who set out to reshape Unilever ends up ousted mid-operation…

Here are my personal reflections on Hein Schumacher’s sprint at the top of UL:

Job cuts: A plan to cut 7,500 jobs, yet sluggish and chaotic execution created confusion, mistrust, and a lack of confidence.

Divestments: The sale of brands and entire divisions led to prolonged uncertainty, internal turbulence, legal challenges, missteps, and lost opportunities.

Unfinished spin-offs: Efforts to offload beauty, tea, and ice cream businesses met mixed success, with the Ekaterra sale already under scrutiny for underperformance—risking a spiral of further job cuts.

Structural changes: A complex vertical split reduced middle management but created a layer of executives with limited influence. An ongoing power struggle between the two offices (an inherited vice?) further complicates steering the ship.

Sustainability shift: Once a pioneer in responsible business, Unilever’s drive and commitment have faded. Drill, baby, drill!

Finally, in pursuit of financial gains, Unilever is losing the confidence of its long-forgotten customers. Inflate and shrinkflate all you want, but the reality is clear – declining market share in key categories is a vote of no confidence in Mr. Schumacher and the board by the ultimate decision-makers: consumers.

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Breathe!

I have previously reflected on the golden rule – or any kind of rules, traditions, etiquette, protocol, and other norms and biases that shape who we are, what we do, and how we live” ( https://lnkd.in/dBMfDyj )

In light of recent geopolitical developments, people are polarized. They take sides. They invoke “rules,” “dress codes,” and “common sense,” reducing the discourse to a simplistic battle between “good guys” and “bad guys.”

But reality is rarely black and white. Just as adding color to white paint and gently stirring creates something neither fully white nor fully colored, our world is full of shades, layers, and complexity. It is diverse, beautiful, and unique. Yet if you keep stirring, everything blends into a dull, monochromatic shade.

Our societies, the world we live in, are rich in diversity and uniqueness. And that is beautiful. Just look at your desktop – I bet Microsoft or Apple has placed a breathtaking image there right now.

“To the victor go the spoils,” said U.S. Senator William L. Marcy in 1832, popularizing the spoils system that rewards donors and political supporters with government jobs. The system is old, well known, and flawed.

When Donald Trump first announced his bid for the presidency, his policies and worldview were clear. It’s his second term for crying out loud! We should stop acting surprised. We should all calm down and breathe deeply.

In a world where rules exist to be bent and broken by the so-called “victors,” just step back and get inspired by nature.

The ultimate victor.

The only force that holds all the gold – reshaping continents, raising and lowering mountains, flooding, burning, and regenerating forests and valleys in an eternal cycle of life and death. Yet, no one calls nature evil. We, humans simply adjust, and learn to coexist with a deadly, unpredictable neighbor.

Tokyo, Jakarta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Naples, Miami, Istanbul – around 300 million people live in cities that nature could reclaim at any moment. And yet, all we care is what someone wears in the “cherished Oval Office”?

Breathe!