Unilever’s problems will not go away with its boss

chief executive wants to see their employer’s share price pop on the news of their appointment. No outgoing boss wants to witness the same thing happen when they announce their departure—especially if a market-wowing successor has yet to be named. That was the fate that befell Alan Jope after he declared on September 26th that he would retire next year. The market value of the consumer-goods giant popped by as much as 3.5%, ending the day 1.8% higher. Both Unilever and Mr Jope present the move as his decision. The fact that he has been in the job since only 2019, is a stripling 59 years old and apparently in good nick strongly suggests he had help making it. So does Unilever’s lacklustre stockmarket performance, especially compared with its main rivals, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble (see chart). Whether his exit will be enough to revive the 130-year-old soap-to-soup conglomerate is another matter.