Surprise from Unilever

Schumacher's abrupt exit highlights shorter tenures of CEOs and reignites the insider-outsider debate

- 

The sudden ouster of Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher less than two years after his appointment is in line with a growing trend of a shorter shelf life for chief executives. Data shows as many as 43 CEOs of the world's largest listed companies departed within 36 months of taking the job last year—the highest since 2018—due to activist investor pressure, according to a report in the Financial Times. Another research study says the average CEO tenure has decreased by 34% since 2017. In fact, there has been a sharp 30% increase in the number of CEOs with tenure less than one year and an equally sharp 30% decrease in the share of CEOs with a tenure in the 10-20-year range. In Unilever's case, the board, which includes activist investor Nelson Peltz, apparently grew impatient with the pace of his turnaround plans.