Veteran activist Peltz joins Unilever board

Shares in consumer goods giant rise on hopes that Trian Fund Management’s arrival heralds an overhaul

BILLIONAIRE activist investor Nelson Peltz has joined the board of Unilever as pressure grows on chief executive Alan Jope to carve up the business.

Unilever, which makes Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Marmite, said Mr Peltz would be joining as a non-executive director in July.

Mr Peltz, whose daughter Nicola recently married Brooklyn Beckham, is chief executive of the New York hedge fund Trian Fund Management.

Shares jumped 7pc following the announcement, as investor hopes were buoyed that Mr Peltz would demand a major overhaul of the company.

News that Trian was building a stake in Unilever first emerged in January. The company revealed yesterday that Trian now holds a 1.5pc stake, making it Unilever’s fourth largest shareholder.

Mr Peltz said he believed Unilever was a company with “significant potential”. He said: “Trian has made a considerable investment in Unilever. We look forward to working collaboratively with management and the board to help drive Unilever’s strategy, operations, sustainability, and shareholder value for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

Mr Peltz is known for agitating for change at major corporations, and has conducted activist campaigns at companies including Procter & Gamble (P&G), Pepsico and Danone. Martin Deboo, an analyst at Jefferies, has previously said Trian’s strategy has frequently “centred on splits and spin-outs”.

It comes amid mounting pressure on Unilever executives, who have faced criticism from leading shareholders for the company’s focus on promoting its so-called “social purpose”.

Terry Smith, the manager of the £29bn Fundsmith Equity fund, has criticised its efforts to attach a purpose to its brands, which also include Hellmann’s mayonnaise, accusing Unilever of “losing the plot”.

“The Hellmann’s brand has existed since 1913 so we would guess that by now consumers have figured out its purpose (spoiler alert – salads and sandwiches),” Mr Smith said in January.

Last year, Ben & Jerry’s sparked a row with Israel after it stopped selling the ice cream brand in occupied Palestinian territories.

Unilever has also faced mounting pressure over its strategy, in the wake of a failed £50bn attempt to buy Glaxosmithkline’s consumer health division.

It has since laid out plans to restructure its business, slashing 1,500 jobs and splitting the company into five new divisions in an effort to revive growth.

However, analysts have suggested the company could go further, and some have argued that Unilever should consider breaking itself up.

Bruno Monteyne, an analyst at Bernstein, said: “The most Trian-unique element of the P&G plan was his proposal to split P&G into independent operating units.

“P&G did not follow that advice at all. In the case of Unilever, we think that makes a lot more sense as it may simply be too spread out to be run effectively.”

Nils Andersen, the chairman of Unilever, said: “We are pleased to be welcoming Nelson to the Unilever board.

“We have held extensive and constructive discussions with him and the Trian team and believe that Nelson’s experience in the global consumer goods industry will be of value to Unilever as we continue to drive the performance of our business.”

Unilever has around 400 brands in its portfolio, many of which are household names, including Axe deodorant, Knorr stock cubes, Magnum ice cream, Vaseline and Domestos.

‘Splitting up Unilever makes a lot more sense as it may simply be too spread out to be run effectively’