Unilever says goodbye to CFO

The hunt is on for a new finance chief at Unilever after the company announced the departure of their current CFO who is leaving to “pursue new opportunities”.

In a short statement, Unilever announced that current CFO, James A Lawrence, 57, would leave the company after two years.

The company behind brands like Dove Soap and Magnum ice creams, which boasts that 150 million times a day someone somewhere chooses its products, said a successor to Lawrence will be announced shortly.

Lawrence said he was delighted he was leaving Unilever in such great shape.

“Having seen the company through an important period of transition, I'm now looking forward to pursuing new opportunities."

Michael Treschow, Chairman of Unilever, said he greatly appreciated Lawrence’s significant contribution.

Lawrence was CFO of General Mills, Inc. From 1998 to 2007 and in 2006 he was appointed vice chairman and previously worked at Northwest Airlines. Prior to that he was President, Pepsi-Cola, Asia Middle East and Africa.

Read Unilever’s full statement: Unilever CFO to step down