Hellmann’s owner Unilever has appointed Heiko Schipper as the FMCG giant’s new president of its nutrition division.

Schipper, who is currently head of chemical manufacturer Bayer, has experience in the global foods nutrition industry, including spending over 20 years at Nestlé before rising to serve as its Nutrition CEO.

Unilever chief executive Hein Schumacher said: “Heiko is a global business leader with deep expertise and experience of the foods and nutrition industry and a long track record of delivering sustained high performance.

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“He is a very impactful, values-driven leader and I look forward to working with him as we continue our focus on accelerating the growth of Unilever’s Nutrition business, which includes our leading Knorr and Hellmann’s global Power Brands.”

Schipper will assume his new position at the food and drink manufacturer, whose nutrition portfolio includes brands Hellmann’s,  Knorr and Horlicks, on 1 May this year.

Schipper’s appointment comes as the latest in a series of leadership shake-ups at the FMCG following a difficult year for the business, in which its CEO described its competitiveness as “disappointing”.

Last year Unilever welcomed Fernando Fernandez as its new chief financial officer after Graeme Pitkethly announced his intention to retire – just months after new CEO Hein Schumacher joined the business in July.