Keith Weed is retiring as Unilever's chief marketing and communications officer after 35 years at the FMCG giant.
The news comes a week after it was revealed Alan Jope will succeed Paul Polman as CEO.
Weed is one of the world’s most high profile marketers, taking a bold stance on dodgy practices in influencer marketing, advocated for better measurement from digital platforms and championed for greater diversity in advertising.
In his reign he has overseen a series of efficiency moves, reducing the number of agencies the company works with and bringing production in house.
"I have been privileged to lead some of the best marketing, sustainability and communication teams in the world," Weed said in a statement. "
As the world's second largest advertiser, we have been able to leverage our scale for effectiveness and efficiencies, and we have also been able to leverage our scale for good, leading to greater responsibility, transparency and accountability in the advertising and digital industry."
Weed’s successor is yet to be announced, but reports suggest Unilever could scrap the CMO role and instead assign responsibility for the marketing functions to marketing heads within each of its three categories: beauty and personal care, home care, and food and refreshments.
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