Unilever has named Peter ter Kulve as its preferred candidate to lead the group’s soon-to-be-listed ice cream division.
According to media reports, ter Kulve is to receive the board's approval next month.
The Magnum Ice Cream Company is getting ready for a planned Amsterdam listing this year.
Ter Kulve is a long-standing Unilever executive, and he is also the company’s current president of ice cream.
Earlier this year, it was announced that Hein Schumacher is to step down as Chief Executive Officer and as a Board Director of Unilever.
Schumacher, who took over from Alan Jope in July 2023, said at the time he would stop "force-fitting" social justice messaging onto brands.
He said brands taking political stances can be an "unwelcome distraction".
Some investors had urged the consumer goods giant to ditch 'virtue signalling' and focus on the bottom line.
He was almost certainly referencing the company's internal rows with Ben & Jerry’s, which ter Kulve would have been party to as head of ice cream.
Ben & Jerry’s was acquired by Unilever in 2000 for $326m, but as part of the deal, the brand was allowed to maintain its own independent board of directors with authority over its social mission, while Unilever controlled operational and financial decisions.
There was even a lawsuit against Unilver that accused the company of silencing attempts by the ice cream maker to express support for Palestinian refugees and end military aid to Israel.
Unilever was established in 1930 following the merger of Margarine Unie and Lever Brothers.
The Magnum Ice Cream Company generated a turnover of €8.3bn in 2024 and is estimated to control 20% of the global ice cream market.
It operates 4.4 million retail stores, has a 128,000-strong employee base, and sells products to 3.4 billion people daily. Its global revenue amounted to almost €60bn in 2023.
It owns well-known brands across Personal Care, Beauty & Wellbeing, Home Care, Nutrition and Ice Cream, Surf, Knorr and Vaseline.
Barclays analyst Warren Ackerman said: “Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum are the two key premium brands for the Magnum Ice Cream Company.
“Investors will want reassurance that there will not be any further fallout… but with the legal dispute still ongoing, there is still some tail risk in our view.”
