Unilever looks to CMO future following departure of marketing leaders

Unilever will look to appoint a chief marketing officer following the departures of marketing leaders, Hugo Verkuil and Andrea Martens, from their posts.

Verkuil, who heads up the food and home division, and Martens, who heads up personal care, have made independent decisions to move on to new opportunities from 2016 after three years in their respective roles.

Martens is taking up a chief brand position at Jurlique, commencing the new role in early 2016. She has been with Unilever A/NZ since 2000, and held various marketing roles across savoury and homecare, ice cream and Refreshment. Prior to this, Martens held marketing roles in personal care for Glaxo SmithKline and Faulding Healthcare.

Verkuil, meanwhile, will be taking up a new position within the global Unilever family after taking some family time. Details on his forthcoming role have not been confirmed. Prior to joining Australia in January 2013, Verkuil was a marketing director in Malaysia, and previously worked in several European offices.

The pair were appointed Unilever’s lead marketing directors as well as managing directors of their respective divisions in early 2013 and replaced Peter Boone, who departed Unilever A/NZ in December 2012 after two-and-a-half years as CMO.

“Andrea and Hugo have built a strong marketing function, embedding purpose in our brands as we work to double the size of our business globally while reducing our environmental impact and increasing our positive social impact,” Unilever A/NZ chairman and CEO, Clive Stiff, said in a statement.

“They leave us with a solid structure and capability in place. Andrea and Hugo’s expertise, passion and commitment have been instrumental in driving sustainable growth for our business in recent years. We wish them the very best for their next moves.”

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