Keen motorcyclist Alan Jope has traversed rocky roads from Peru to the Gobi desert, but the terrain he navigated as Unilever chief executive has been one of the less forgiving.
Jope, 58, announced this week he would retire at the end of 2023, following three years in which he sold off the world’s largest tea business, unsuccessfully bid £50bn for GSK’s consumer health arm and shifted Unilever’s headquarters, only to see its share price languish slightly below its level when he arrived.
Following the announcement of Jope’s departure, investors called for a new leader from outside the company and for a rapid review of Unilever’s vast portfolio of brands. The mixed performance from Jope, a 35-year veteran of the company, has led to renewed questions about the culture at the more than 90-year-old maker of Dove soap, Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Magnum ice creams.