Unilever names Shell chief new vice chair

Unilever, the world's second-largest consumer-products company, said non-executive director Jeroen van der Veer will become vice chairman in May, a month before he steps down as Royal Dutch Shell Plc chief.

"I'm extremely pleased that Jeroen van der Veer has agreed to become vice chairman and senior independent director," Michael Treschow, chairman of the London- and Rotterdam-based company, said today in a Regulatory News Service statement. David Simon, the current vice chairman, will be retiring, Unilever said.

Treschow, himself a former head of Electrolux AB, was the first of three outsiders to take a top job at Unilever, preceding chief financial officer James Lawrence, who formerly worked at General Mills and Polman, who was passed for the top job at Nestle SA and became chief in January. The board reshuffle comes at a time, when the maker of Lipton tea and Dove soap aims to boost volume growth as a global recession hurts consumer spending.

Unilever also plans to nominate Louise Fresco, a non- executive director at Rabobank Groep NV, as a board member, after which five of Unilever's 14 directors will be Dutch. At its annual shareholder meeting in May Unilever will also propose to name Paul Walsh, chief executive officer at Diageo Plc. and Ann Fudge, non-executive director at Novartis Ag and General Electric Co., to its board.

Van der Veer will also be appointed as a member to the supervisory board of Royal Philips Electronics NV in July. At Unilever, he will also chair the nomination and remuneration committees.