Chairman of Unilever Niall FitzGerald will retire on September 30 as the company nears the end of its Path to Growth programme.
At the same time he will step down as vice-chairman of sister company Unilever NV.
His departure, after 37 years with the company, will spark a high level reshuffle, with foods director Patrick Cescau taking over both FitzGerald’s posts.
Kees van der Graaf, president, ice cream and frozen foods Europe, will replace Cescau. He will be nominated for election to the boards of Unilever at the annual general meetings in May.
FitzGerald joined Unilever in 1967 and became financial director in 1987. He then served in the foods executive and as detergents co-ordinator.
He became vice-chairman in 1994 and in 1996 was appointed Unilever chairman and Unilever NV vice-chairman.

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