Dive Brief:

• Unilever appointed Srinivas Phatak, who has spent nearly three decades at the company in such roles as deputy financial officer and group control and most recently served as interim finance chief, to be its permanent CFO, according to a press release Tuesday. He was also appointed to the board, effective immediately.
• The move comes just months after Phatak was named to the top finance role on a temporary basis in February. The global consumer goods giant said it reached the decision after conducting an internal and external search process.
• “Following that process, the Unilever board is in unanimous agreement that Srinivas is the best candidate for the role, due to the strength of his industry and functional experience and having performed strongly as acting CFO,” the company said in the release. 

Dive Insight:

The decision to choose an insider for the role is one that an increasing number of companies are making this year. The share of major public companies that have picked CFOs from their own ranks has jumped to nearly 71.8% in the first half of this year to date from 52.9% last year, a trend that may in part be a reaction to broader economic uncertainty, according to a report from the executive search firm Crist Colder Associates.

The London-based maker of such household foods and products as Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Hellmann’s mayonnaise has been undergoing leadership changes. The company’s former CFO and 37–year company veteran Fernando Fernandez earlier this year replaced Hein Schumacher as CEO, CFO Dive’s sister publication Food Dive previously reported.  

At a conference earlier this month Fernandez, who took the company’s helm in March, said Unilever was evaluating its top 200 leaders and had plans to refresh about 25% of its leadership team, as well as to elevate others in a planned shakeup amid a wider restructuring plan, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 3.  

Fernandez, in a statement in the Tuesday release, said Phatak “brings financial rigour, strategic clarity, and a sharp eye for value creation. His leadership and constructive challenge will be very valuable in driving consistent volume growth, margin expansion, and advancing our growth story. I'm confident that, together with the team, we can build a scalable marketing and sales engine that delivers executional excellence across all channels."

Srinivas is to receive annual fixed pay of 1.175 million euros (approximately $1.388 million USD) and will be eligible to receive annual bonus and performance share plan awards, the release states.