Andrew Stephen has been named as the new head of investor relations at consumer goods company Unilever, after serving for ten years in the firm’s IR team.
Andrew Stephen, Head of IR at Unilever
The news comes as James Allison, Unilever’s former IR chief, moves on to take a new role at the company as the leader of its category finance organization, which encompasses his former responsibilities for corporate strategy, corporate ventures and M&A. In this new position, Allison will ensure Unilever maintains a consistent and fully integrated approach to any strategic issues it may face.
An email sent by Jean-Marc Huët, Unilever’s CFO, broke the news to the company’s investment community, noting that Stephen has a ‘deep knowledge’ of the firm built over years in varied roles at the company. ‘We look forward to him bringing this to bear in his new, expanded role and sustaining the high standards of excellence and continuous improvement that have been established,’ added Huët.
Stephen takes on his new role at the large-cap firm with immediate effect, reporting directly to Huët. His first engagement with shareholders is likely to be the publication of Unilever’s Q1 2015 results, currently scheduled for April 16. Prior to his promotion, Stephen served as VP of IR.
In his email, Huët also thanks Allison for his ‘immense contribution’ to the firm’s success over the past six years: ‘James’ deep understanding of the business and strong communications skills have helped to ensure that Unilever’s investor relations has been widely recognized as among the best.’
Allison also steered Unilever’s IR team to award-winning form, with the company often appearing at the IR Magazine Awards ‒ Europe. In 2014 the company won the award for best use of technology, and was nominated for best sustainability practice and best IR in the consumer staples sector.
