Unilever has announced two changes in its top management, which will see the appointment of a new chief legal officer and a new chief supply chain officer.
The Dove-maker has named Maria Varsellona as its new chief legal officer.
Currently, Varsellona serves as the general counsel and company secretary for global technology company ABB Ltd.
Before joining ABB in November 2019, she served as the chief legal officer of Nokia, as well as President of Nokia Technologie.
Earlier, she held senior legal positions in Tetra Laval Group, Switzerland, GE in Italy, and Hertz Europe.
Alan Jope, Unilever CEO, commented, “I am delighted to welcome Maria [Varsellona] to Unilever and look forward to working closely with her. Maria [Varsellona]’s deep experience and strong track record of delivery make her ideally placed to support the next stage of Unilever’s journey.”
Varsellona will replace Ritva Sotamaa, who has decided to retire from the company at the end of March next year.
Sotamaa joined Unilever in 2013, and was appointed group secretary in 2018, in addition to her role as chief legal officer.
Jope added, “Ritva [Sotamaa] has built a first-class legal function at Unilever, brought great leadership to our business integrity agenda, and was instrumental in the successful unification of our dual-headed legal structure. I am very thankful for her wisdom, advice and support over many years, and wish her the very best for the future.”
Chief Supply Chain Officer
Elsewhere, Reginaldo Ecclissato will step in as the new chief supply chain officer of the company on 1 January 2022.
Ecclissato is a Unilever executive, currently serving as the executive vice-president of Mexico, Central America, and the Greater Caribbean region.
He has been a part of the company for more than 30 years, working across both developed and emerging markets.
Before this, he served as the executive vice president of Unilever’s Americas Supply Chain.
Jope stated, “I am also very pleased that, in Reginaldo [Ecclissato], we have an internal successor with extensive supply chain experience, who has overseen significant business growth and brought impressive leadership to the Mexico, Central America, and Greater Caribbean region.”
Ecclissato will succeed Marc Engel, who has decided to leave the FMCH giant in April 2022.
Engel’s spent 30 years with Unilever and has been a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE) for the past six years.
Jope added, “Marc [Engel]’s leadership of our supply chain has been critical to Unilever becoming a faster, more resilient and more sustainable business.
“I am very grateful for Marc’s contributions over his long career with Unilever, and in particular for his stewardship of our supply chain through the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years.”
Recently, Unilever Plc agreed to sell its global tea business to CVC Capital Partners for €4.5 billion, concluding a process of reviewing and spinning off the division that took more than two years.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Dayeeta Das. For more A-Brands news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
